A Family of North Dakota Marsh Hawks 



437 



this time: the nesthngs had httle fear of us and had been neither murdered 

 nor kidnaped. 



Though the brood were scattered around in the bushes, four of the five were 

 found without trouble, two at some distance from the nest. They were very 

 different birds from the downy nestlings photographed eight days before; this 

 was June 26. All were now dark with feathers except Little Brother who, while 

 still downy, had an inch of tail and an inch and a half of wing projecting 

 beyond the blue pin-feather cases. He posed well, showing no fear, and doing 



LITTLE BROTHER' HOLDING OX HARD WITH CL.\WS AND WING-TIPS 



his best to stand up on the board by which we raised him into the light. After 

 tipping over on his bill, he held on hard with claws and wing tips, and finally, 

 as the result of much coaxing and encouragement, sat up like a gentleman. 

 But at the fourth snapshot, when Miss Wishart put a rufous-bodied elder 

 brother beside him, Little Brother, apparently afraid of losing his hard-worn 

 balance, opened his bill and spread his wings threateningly at his relative. 



One of the larger birds whom Miss Wishart held up in her gloved hands, to 

 have its picture taken, had a blackish back and wing-quills about four 

 inches long. Its breast was rufous and its tail blackish with rufous tip. The 

 heads of all the brood were still downy buffy cream. 



The little fellows responded so well to Miss Wishart's gentle talk that it 

 seemed as if they could easily have been tamed and actually, two days later, 



