The Duck Hawks of Taughannock Gorge 



time; nor was he e\er so conspicuous ii: his sohciUuU; for Ihe nesf or \'oun^ 

 as was the female. 



The next visit was made by Mr. Knight on May ii, when it was dis- 

 covered that the eggs had hatched and the young were aj)parently 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 puri)Ose 

 of securing food. Each time a Rough-winged Swallow was brought in from 

 the colony that had established itself in the gorge below. The young were still 

 weak, and were fed with great care; quite differently from the rnad 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 



YOUNG DUCK HAWKS FEEDING. THE FEMALE PARENT AT THE RIGHT 



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 Swallows, on the other hand, showed no great alarm when 

 pursued, and frequently eluded the pursuer. The Falcons never struck from 

 above, but waited until opposite the victim, when, with a quick semi-inversion 

 of the body, they fiercely struck the Swallow from the side. At one time 

 the Hawk was observed to strike from nearly below the victim, so that an 

 almost complete inversion was necessary. A Meadowlark and a Goldfinch 

 were likewise brought in at this time, and in the gorge below were many 

 feathers of Bluebirds and Flickers. The young were evidently consuming 

 more food than when first hatched. There were but three young in the nest 

 at this time, one having mysteriously disappeared since the last observation. 

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



