THE OOLOGIST. 



09 



It would be difficult to say when tlie first 

 sj'ring Cooper's Hawk makes his appearance 

 as all do not go south each fall. I have met 

 with this species in Southern Michigan 

 during every month of the year. In 

 December they are often far from rare, 

 and may even be seen not infrequently 

 about the edges of the city. They some- 

 times venture to the very centers of our 

 crowded squares in piirsnit of the ubiquitous 

 English House Sparrow. At these seasons 

 the swift hawk is seen gliding about our 

 yards, dipping down nearly to 'he earth 

 and again rising to the level of the fences 

 or hedges, always active and ever on the 

 alert for prey or danger. These in- 

 tuirsions into the city are only made at early 

 morning when few are stirring and are 

 seldom or never observed during summer, 

 but rather in early winter. The Cooper 

 Hawk appears common about April tenth 

 aud perhaps this may be taken as the 

 heght of the vernal migration of 

 tlioso which spend the winter south of 

 us. 



The nesting season begins in late April 

 a id extends into June. The nest construc- 

 tion o cupies the pair nearly ten days; much 

 of this time, however, being occupied in 

 flying about, apparently in an aimless 

 manner as during the recent mating season. 

 The nest is ready for the eggs about May 

 fi rst, but much earlier dates are recoi'ded ; 

 April 22 ranking first hereabouts I believe, 

 while records of fresh sets date as late as 

 May 29. The nest, hereabouts, is generally 

 bjilt in the white or black oak (^tercm 

 (i!bft or Q. (•orcfiud. but not rarely it isf(juud 

 in the common beech. The birds usually 

 so'ect the highest lauds for their breeding 

 l)urpos,^s aud this explains why the nests 

 aie so often found in oak tiee-:. The nest 

 is quit a bulky affair for the size of the 

 bird aud is probably augmented in size from 

 year to year by the successive nestings, 

 which certainly do ocinr in some 

 instances. 



The eggs, dirty blue or more properly, 

 l).?rhaps, light, dull blue, hardly need de- 

 s -riiition here, as they are so w^ll known. 

 Sometimes oulv two eggs are found in a 



nest, but generally occurs late in the season 

 and probably occurs as a result of a second 

 nesting where pair was robbed of the first 

 set. The usual number is four but often 

 only three, and in rare instances five eggs 

 are found. The Cooper's Hawk is an au- 

 dacious robber of the farm yard poultry, 

 bnt confines itself to half -grown fowls. It 

 is quite retired in its habits aud its nests 

 are not readily found, and are not generally 

 .seen except by accidental discovery. 



Acdpitrr avtfcfipUlm (Wii.s. ) American 

 Goshawk. 



A rare winter resident. I have never 

 seen but one alive. This captive was owned 

 and captured near Cadillac, Michigan, 

 about 44 degrees, 30 minutes north latitude. 

 I was assured that the bird was taken from 

 a nest while young, in that immediate 

 vicinity. The species is not generally 

 known to be a resident of our Stat*, bnt 

 only as a rare straggler to our southern 

 boundaries. 



The eggs of this species are said to very 

 nearly resemble those of the Cooper's Ha\vk 

 aud an impo.sition may be aud undoubtedly 

 is frequently practiced on the unsuspecting 

 oological collector who is not sutficientlr 

 exacting as to identification. 



How to Retain the Natural Color of 

 an Egg. 



In looking over an article l>y the Rev. 

 J. G. Wood I found something very interest- 

 ing, as well as instructive, and thinking it 

 might be of interest to some of the readers 

 of the OoL,oc;isT, I send it to you. It is 

 a preparation for restoring the pinkish cast 

 which so many eggs lose when blown, and 

 which destroys much of the original beauty: 



Make a ^lass tube like that which is used 

 iu emptying the eggs, but let tlie aperture 

 be larger. Heat some white wax, and 

 while it is hot and liquid mix it with 

 cirmiue aud gamboge, taking care to mak« 

 the mixture several shades deejjer iu hue 

 than the egg is required to be externally. 

 Warm the egg, heat the pointed end of the 

 glass tube, and suck \\\t s<^me of the colored 



