EAGLES. HAWKS, AND KITES 



65 



uft''' '"'' coverts, ti'hitc. Young: Similar to adult 

 female but darker everywhere and with l)ut four dark 

 l)ands on tail. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nkst: On the ground in a tangle 

 of weeds or grassy hummocks; neatly constructed, for 

 a Hawk, of fine dried marsh grass; rather Indky. a foot 

 or more in diameter. Kggs : 2 to 9, but usually from 

 4 to 6, dull white, faintly tinged with a greenish or 

 bluish shade; no characteristic spots but often blotched 



with a very pale brown and other neutral-colored tints. 

 Distribution. — North America ; breeds from north- 

 eastern Siberia, northwestern Alaska, northwestern 

 Mackenzie, central Kcewatin, northern Quebec, and 

 Prince Edward Island south to the southern border of 

 the United States; winters from southern British 

 Columbia, Colorado, Iowa, the Ohio Valley, and New 

 Vork (occasionally Massachusetts) south to the 

 Bahamas, Cuba, and Colombia. 



The Marsh Hawk is a bird of very wide dis- 

 tribution in tlie United States, being found in 

 nearly all open localities. Slowly and steadily with 

 a gliding flight the Harrier quarters back and 

 forth across the tields with the care and precision 

 of a well-trained pointer dog. Not a square 

 yard is overlooked. Suddenly the forward flis^dit 

 is checked with almost a back somersault and as 



part in rearing the young and are very courageous 

 in defending the home from intruders, especially 

 after the eggs are hatched. 



In the spring, Marsh Hawks are seen always 

 in pairs; but after the young are able to fly they 

 generally hunt in family parties, and later in 

 the season twenty to fifty iiidividu.als will flock 

 together. 



Photograph by H. K. Job 



(ourtesy of Outing Fubhshing Co. 



NEST AND YOUNG OF MARSH HAWK 



abruptly as though he had run into a wall ; a 

 short interval of hovering, then a descent that as 

 often misses as captures the quarry below. When 

 caught the prey is devoured on the spot. 



The courting manetivers of the male above 

 the female are interesting. Sweeping in great 

 semi-circles, gradually lessening in diameter, he 

 stops suddenly on the top of a swoop, closes his 

 wings, drops, turns head over tail, drops again, 

 turns over and swings upward from the last 

 somersault, just clear of the ground, on another 

 ecstatic performance. These wild movements are 

 usuallv executed in a silence unbroken except for 

 the sound of rushing wings. Both parents take 



The food of the Marsh Hawk varies with the 

 season and with local conditions. In some parts 

 of the country it is principally birds, and in 

 others it is exclusively small quadrupeds, and of 

 these field mice are the favorites. An average 

 pair rearing young would destroy in the neighbor- 

 hood of 1000 field mice during the nesting 

 period. If we place a value of two cents on each 

 mouse, which is a very conservative estimate, 

 they would be worth twenty dollars for that 

 short period, to a farmer, and more if he owned 

 an orchard of any size. Rabbits, tree squirrels, 

 ground squirrels, lizards, snakes, and frogs are 

 found on the menu of this bird. 



