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ill the winter, on account of the abundance of food, as is frequently the 

 case with this species. 



The Turkey Vulture is very common, especially along the river, where, 

 standing on one of the high bluffs on a summer day, it is rarely the case 

 that one cannot see from one to a dozen, sailing lazily along, following the 

 course of the river in their search for food. The nesting begins about the 

 last week in May, when one or two eggs are deposited; generally two. The 

 site is a hollow tree or stump or beside some decayed log in the thick tim- 

 ber, and I have never found them breeding farther from the river than the 

 wooded bluffs which skirt its banks. One nest was found in the hollow 

 top of an immense linden tree, and every attempt to flush the bird from 

 the cavitj' was unsuccessful until a lighted paper was dropped into it, 

 which ignited her tail feathers, and broug-ht about a hasty and undignified 

 departure, leaving the two beautifully marked eg-gs to be secured. 



The most common hawks are the Red-tailed and Cooper's, both breed- 

 ing quite extensively in all parts of the county, but more abundantly along 

 the river. 



The Red-shouldered and Sparrow Hawks are less abundant, the Red- 

 shouldered being quite rare, as I have never found it breeding but once, 

 when I located a pair on a heavily timbered creek twelve miles south of 

 Nebraska City, known as Camp Creek. The nest was placed among the 

 larger limbs of a Cottonwood tree growing near the creek, and towering up 

 to the tops of the trees growing on the top of the high banks. As near as 

 I could estimate, it was about 60 feet from the ground. On April 11, 1899, 

 I secured two fresh eggs from the nest, which was a very loosely built 

 structure of large twigs, lined with bark. The eggs were brownish white, 

 heavily washed and blotched with light brown and lilac. 



Sparrow Hawks are very abundant in the early spring, but many pass 

 on north to their breeding g-rounds, leaving fewer to breed here than would 

 be expected from their early abundance. The only nest observed was 

 found May 7, 1898. It was located in an old cavity, probably made by a Flick- 

 er. The cavity was in a Cottonwood stub about twelve feet from the 

 ground, and from its appearance had been used several years by the Spar- 

 row Hawk. It was near an old, unoccupied house, standing alone upon a 

 hilltop almost bare of trees. The nest was composed of grass, feathers 

 and other rubbish and contained five fresh eggs, from which the female 

 had to be removed by force, and at the expense of not a few scratches. The 

 Sparrow Hawk generally frequents some small isolated grove or a small 

 creek with trees along its banks. Their principal food is mice and g-rass- 

 hoppers. I think it must have been the abundance of mice around the old 

 house which caused the above-mentioned pair to take up their abode there, 

 because there was a wooded creek less than a qtiarter of a mile from the 

 place. They begin to arrive in March, and are nearly all gone by the first 

 of November. 



The Cooper's Hawk is by far the most abundant of our hawks, and 

 seems to have the worst reputation among the farmers. It is merely a 

 summer resident, arriving in March and departing at the first cold snap in 

 the fall. It is the boldest and most fearless of our species, nearly always 



