HAWKS AND OWLS 223 



rump. The }'oung are darker above than the 

 female, and much darker below. 



The nest of the Marsh Hawk, on the ground 

 in a swamp, is made of weeds, grass, rushes, etc., 

 usually well concealed by its surroundings. 

 The three to five pale bluish eggs are sometimes 

 spotted with brown, but more often they are 

 plain. 



During the mating season the Marsh Hawk 

 performs some strange antics in the air. Some- 

 times he will fiy very high and then letting go, 

 as it were, come tumbling down almost to the 

 ground, utternig a shrill cry. It almost seems he 

 is about to dash himself to pieces on the ground, 

 but just in time he recovers himself and circles 

 about in a rational way again. No doubt the 

 purpose of these queer actions is to excite the 

 admiration of the female, since he has no dulcet 

 tones with which to woo her. This is a migrant 

 Hawk, appearing in the vicinity of New York 

 in April and departing in mid-autumn. Their 

 range is very broad, but they are not numerous 

 in any locality. 



The Sharp-shinned Hawk. This is a Hawk 

 of bad reputation, whose habits no doubt have 

 done much to give an evil name to the whole 

 family. He has well earned the name Hen Hawk. 

 The appetite for small birds and chickens seems 

 very keen in him and he is exceedingly wxll 

 equipped for his career as a true hunter. 

 Their flight is low and very swift and they are 

 bold to a remarkable degree. Sometimes one 

 of these Hawks will plunge into a poultry 

 yard and, almost in the owTier's face, seize 



