SHARP-SHINNED HAWK 99 



had partially filled it the fall before." From the above data, and 

 from many other records not referred to, it is quite evident that 

 the sharp-shinned hawk prefers to nest in thick coniferous trees; 

 but where conifers are not available in the vicinity of good hunting 

 grounds it will nest in almost any other convenient site. 



Eggs. — The eggs of the sharp-shinned hawk are highly prized by 

 collectors, as they are among the handsomest of American hawk's 

 eggs and show almost endless variations in color and pattern. The 

 set usually consists of four or five eggs, often only three, and rarely 

 six or even seven or eight. If some of the eggs are taken during 

 the laying period the hawk will keep on laying. C. L. Kawson, 

 "J. M. W." (1882), took 18 eggs from a single pair of birds in one 

 season : 



From the nest in a pine grove four eggs were taken the week ending May 

 23d. The next morning boys Crow-hunting tore down the nest. Before night 

 a new nest resembling a Night Heron's was constructed in the same grove 

 and three eggs taken the second week. By the middle of the third week two 

 more eggs were taken, and a Pigeon's egg substituted, from which were taken 

 successively as laid nine more eggs. The early morning of every alternate 

 day was the rule for a fresh egg. The longest break in the series was from 

 .Tune 2d to June 6th. The seventeenth and last egg in the direct line was 

 laid on June 21st, and when taken the nest was deserted, neither bird being 

 seen for several days. On the 25th, the female ventured back, and apparently 

 as an afterthought or a "positively the last" trial-egg, laid just one more. 



The eggs are well rounded, ovate to short-ovate or nearly oval in 

 shape; the shell is smooth but not glossy. The ground color is dull 

 white or very pale bluish white. Some eggs have great blotches 

 or splashes of dark, light, or bright rich browns, such as "burnt 

 umber", "chocolate", "liver brown", "amber brown", or "hazel" ; some 

 of the handsomest eggs have underlying washes or great splashes 

 of the lighter browns, or of shades of "vinaceous-fawn", overlaid 

 with the darker markings; and some are largely covered with pale 

 vinaceous tints and spotted with the lighter browns, producing a 

 very pretty effect. The heavy markings may be concentrated, or 

 confluent, at either end, or they may form a ring midway. Some 

 eggs are finely and evenly sprinkled with small spots or dots of any 

 of the browns named above, or with vinaceous shades, or both. Oc- 

 casional eggs are sparingly marked or nearly immaculate, one or 

 two such eggs occurring in sets otherwise heavily marked. The 

 measurements of 58 eggs average 37.5 by 30.4 millimeters; the eggs 

 showing the four extremes measure 40.6 by 30.5, 39 by 32, 35 by 29, 

 and 36.6 by 28.9 millimeters. 



Young. — Incubation lasts about three weeks, perhaps 21 to 24 

 days, and is shared by both sexes. Henry J. Rust (1914) made a 

 careful study of a brood of young sharp-shinned hawks and pub- 

 lished an interesting, illustrated article on it. On the morning of 



