DUCK HAWK 51 



Only one brood is raised in a season, but, if the eggs are taken, the 

 bird will lay a second, or even a third, set after about three weeks. 

 Dr. Charles R. Keyes (1906) reports that a pair in Iowa laid two sets 

 of six eggs each in one season. 



Allen and Knight (1913) made a series of observations on a brood 

 of young duck hawks near Cayuga Lake, N. Y. On May 11 the young 

 were apparently about three days old. 



During the four hours that the nest was observed, the female brooded, except 

 for two short intervals, when she left for the purpose of securing food. Each time 

 a Rough-winged Swallow was brought in from a colony that had established itself 

 in the gorge below. The young were still Weak, and were fed with great care; 

 quite differently from the mad orgies that took place later on, as they grew older. 

 Between ten and fifteen minutes elapsed before either Swallow was consumed. 

 Small bits were torn from it by the parent, and the young permitted to pick them 

 off from the side of her bill. On May 19 the young were still in the down, though 

 much larger. At this time, during the four hours of observation, two more 

 Swallows were brought in; the Hawks seeming to fancy these birds, and pursuing 

 them with evident satisfaction. * * * 



The nest was not visited again until June 9, when the young seemed nearly 

 ready to leave. Standing at the very edge of the ledge, they flapped their wings 

 in exercise, as though they would like to sail across the gorge to meet their parents, 

 and yet dared not. Their vision had become exceedingly acute, and every 

 passing bird was watched with the keenest interest. They always saw the 

 approaching parents long before the human eye could perceive them, and awaited 

 them with the most intense excitement. They danced about the ledge and 

 uttered the wild screams of their race. It seemed as though at any moment one 

 of them might tumble from the precarious position. To add to the excitement, 

 the parent bird never came directly to the nest, but passed by as if to tantalize 

 her offspring. When she did come to the ledge, a wild fight ensued among the 

 young for the possession of the game, and for a few minutes the proprietorship 

 was undecided. Usually, however, the first one to get a hold managed to draw 

 the prey beneath it, completely covering it and allowing the others no chance 

 whatsoever. On this day, two pigeons were brought in, one by the female and 

 one by the male. * * * 



On June 21, but one young remained on the ledge. The others were flying 

 about the gorge, but toward the latter part of the afternoon returned to the 

 nesting ledge, evidently to roost. The first young to leave was now flying about 

 with the ease of the adults, and could be distinguished from his parents only 

 with difficulty. He, likewise, took great interest in the Rough-winged Swallows 

 and frequently pursued them, striking, like his parents, from the side. The 

 previous year the young were watched taking food from the talons of the parents 

 in mid-air. As the adult bird glided up the gorge bearing food, the young flew 

 out to meet it, coming from below and to the side, and struck the prey from its 

 claws even as they were now striking at the live Swallows. 



The young bird that remained on the ledge, though frequently exercising its 

 wings, seemed to be fearful of trusting itself to the air, even when clods were 

 tossed down, it lacked the stamina to go. Finally, however, as it perched on 

 the brink and a stone struck too close for comfort, it jumped forth and set its 

 wings. We were uncertain as to whether it could control its unaccustomed 

 wings after leaving the supporting ledge, but to our surprise, when once started, 

 it lost all timidity. Instead of sailing to the creek below, as we thought it might, 

 it circled about the gorge, and, espying the trees in which it had so frequently 



