100 BULLETIN 16 7, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



July 2 he found four of the five eggs pipped and that afternoon one 

 j^oung bird hatched, showing that incubation had not begun until 

 the set was complete, or nearly so. "The eyes were open and very 

 dark in color." The next day three more eggs hatched, and the fifth 

 egg was pipped. On July 7 the young birds "seemed to have in- 

 creased one-third in size" since July 3. Three days later the young 

 were able to hold up their heads and show some resentment; "the 

 sheathed feathers at the wing tips were about one-half inch long", 

 when the young were about a week old. On July 12 he saw the 

 female feed the young by tearing off strips of meat from a young 

 bird. On July IG the wing quills were bursting their sheaths, and 

 on July 28, when about 23 days old, the young all left the nest as 

 Mr. Rust climbed the tree. He says: "When I was about half-way 

 up the mother gave what seemed to be a warning cry, and hawks 

 were flying in all directions. They must have all left at once." 

 Their wings were well developed, but their bodies were still largely 

 downy. He caught two of the young birds with considerable diffi- 

 culty and took them home to study further development. On 

 August 1 the last of the down had disappeared, and on August 9 he 

 liberated the captives near the nesting site where he found the 

 other young and the mother still in the vicinity of the nest. 



My one and onl}'- experience with a nest of young sharpshins 

 was similar to Mr. Rust's. On July 16 they were all downy except 

 for a few feathers on the scapulars and for wing quills about an 

 inch long; but when I climbed to the nest on July 23, I was sur- 

 prised to see them all fly away, although one was quite feeble. Two 

 that I kept in captivity made very unsatisfactory pets, always timid, 

 wild, and untamable, but with fierce appetites for raw meat. The 

 old birds must kill large numbers of small birds to keep them 

 satisfied. Mr. Forbush (1927) thinks the young must require three 

 or four birds each every day; he says that J. A. Farley found the 

 twigs of a nest "littered with thrushes' legs." Ralph J. Donahue 

 (1923) gives a different picture; he made seven trips to a nest of 

 young sharpshins, and says: "I am glad to say that I found no 

 evidence of a single bird killed. Locusts, large beetles, and cicadas, 

 with a mouse or two for dessert, was the main tj^^e of food." 



Plumages. — Wlien first hatched the nestling is scantily covered 

 with short white down, with a faint creamy tinge. This is soon 

 replaced, or covered, with thick^ woolly, longer down, covering the 

 whole bird, "pale pinkish buff" in color, but whiter on the belly. 

 The wing quills are the first to sprout, when the nestling is still 

 very small. The plumage then appears on the scapulars, back, and 

 tail, then on the flanks and breast, and finally the head. The 

 young leave the nest before the down is entirely replaced by feathers. 



