20 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 13-Xo. 2 



specimens seen but not secured. See Proceed- 

 iiiss U.S. Natural Museum, 18SG. pp. 248-249. 



One da}', while statloTieil in a tall larch, 

 watching a pair of .Swallow-tailed Kites which 

 were nesting not far away, a Broad-Wing 

 seemed much disturbed at my presence. Perch- 

 ing himself on top of a dry larch, within easy 

 gunshot of me, he kept up a continual cry, 

 screaming forth his shril e-e-e. Now and again 

 he darted by me, so close as to fan me with his 

 wings ; tlieu he resumed the same perch where 

 he poured forth his doleful strain. This was 

 the first attempt at resistance I liad witnessed, 

 as when frightened from the nest, the female 

 will fly heavily away a little distance, 

 and remain among the tree tops an anxious 

 witness of the collector's depredations. 



On warm summer days, this bird forsakes its 

 ordinary flapping flight and the shadows of the 

 woods, and indulges in a series of serial per- 

 formances befitting a bird of higher station. 

 Suddenly, one will start up briskly from some 

 dead tree in the forest, and begin its upward 

 course in short circles, rising (xuickly and easi- 

 ly, by gradually widening spirals, assisting it- 

 self by vigorous flapping until well up, when 

 the metallic scream ceases, and with full spread 

 wings and tail it soars lightly back and forth, 

 still tending upward until almost out of sight, 

 and with arrowy swiftness the gay fellow de- 

 scends with long sweeps and curves, closing 

 the act with a horizontal dash far over the 

 woods and marshes. 



In migration, many pleasing freaks of flight 

 may be seen, as individuals give chase to some 

 neighbor, while the great company moves along 

 in its onward way. 



During the mating season (which begins 

 about the first week in May), the clear, shrill 

 scream constantly echoes in the dim woods, as 

 one answers back to another from some chosen 

 perch. This cry somewhat resembles the call 

 of the Ivildeer Plover, and is tolerably well rep- 

 resented by the syllabes vhet-e-e-e — sharp and 

 piercing when the bird is angry, or drawled and 

 pitifully when au intruder comes too near the 

 nest. Frequently have I almost decided to 

 leave the humble parent in possession of her 

 treasures, so pleading was she, and her attitude 

 so indicative of sorrow. Well does the expe- 

 rienced collector know the value of the alarm 

 note which this species utters at the first ap- 

 proach of danger. Many a nest would be passed 

 by unnoticed were it not for that metallic e 

 which usually greets his approach, and is an 

 almost certain indication that a nest is bidden 

 somewhere near. 



Their food consists of small squirrels, frogs, 

 and, in fact, any small quarry easily captured. 

 Never have I known them to molest the poultry. 



A trio of fledgelings, which came into my 

 possession, devoured almost anything oftVred 

 to them, even cooked beef. It was really 

 amusing to watch their antics. One, who was 

 the strongest, asserted his powers by gathering 

 everything to himself, at which he was kept 

 very busy, as his weaker nestmates would slyly 

 purloin a portion, even at the risk of a flap over 

 the head. They were always quarrelsome and 

 never satisfied. 



The nest, which is invariably a new one, dif- 

 fers in appearance from tliat of tlie Cooper's 

 Hawk. That species always uses sticks and 

 twigs, which it breaks from trees and bushes, 

 while the Broad-Wing contents itself with 

 sticks gathered from the ground near by, out of 

 which it constructs a heavy structure in an 

 ample crotch of a small tree. But one excep- 

 tion to this rule was a nest found in the top 

 of a very large post oak, which had been broken 

 about thirty feet from tne ground. The exter- 

 nal dimensions of the nest are less than those 

 of the Cooper's Hawk, while the internal con- 

 struction is identical. 



For lining, the bird uses a few tree bark chips, 

 and later, some leafy twigs of the Populus gran- 

 dhientatn, or other tree. When incubation has 

 well advanced, the small drawing feathers of 

 the bird adhere all over the structure, and then 

 it is time to secure the eggs it ever. 



The following are a few instances which well 

 illustrate the time and manner of nesting. The 

 nests are from two seasons, 18SB-1S87, the dates 

 for the two years being almost identical. 



May 10th, a set of two eggs was taken from a 

 nest in a crotch forty feet from the ground in a 

 small bass wood tree; eggs slightly incubated. 



May 17th, a set of three was found in the 

 crotch of a small elm tree. 



May I'.lth, a set of slightly incubated eggs was 

 taken from the crotch of a small bass wood 

 tree. 



Also another set was secured, containing tour 

 verj' richly marked fresh eggs. This was the 

 only instance in my experience where so large 

 a number was found. The nest was placed 

 thirty feet from the ground in the croti:h of a 

 small "sugar tree," ^fcr saixharinutn, in open 

 woods, forty rods back from the shore of a 

 sm.-iil lake. 



May 20th, I took a set of three from a crotch 

 twentj'-five feet from the ground in a post oak. 



May 21st, a set of three fresh eggs were found 

 in a nest in a crotch of a bass wood. 



