5" 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. iS-No. 4 



Burtis Wilson. Davenport, la. 



Summer visitor ; tolerably common. 



Arrives before April lo ; leaves about 

 October 20. Breeds sparingly in second 

 growth timber, on either high or low ground. 

 Fits up old Crows' nests in oaks 30 feet up. 



Nests : April 9, building; May 7 it had 4 

 fresh eggs ; built on an old Crows' nest, from 

 which a set of Long-eared Owl had been 

 taken. May 3, set 1-3, slightly incubated ; 

 old Crows' nest, 50 feet up, in oak tree. 



Ridg-xay. " Natural History Survey of 

 Illinois." 



Cooper's Hawk : " This bold marauder is 

 a common resident in all wooded portions 

 of the State." 



Keiniicott. "Catalogue of Birds Ob- 

 served in Cook County, Illinois," 1853-55. 



Cooper's Hawk : " Common ; follows the 

 pigeons in their migration." 



H. Prattcu. " Catalogue Birds of Illi- 

 nois, Wayne and Edwards Counties," 1853-5. 



Cooper's Hawk : Wayne, no remarks. 



Ridgivav. "Catalogue of the Birds of 

 Illinois." Bulletin of the Illinois Museum of 

 Natural History, Vol. I. 



Cooper's Hawk : " Resident. Breeds- 

 Commonly known as the Blue Chicken 

 Hawk, Swift Hawk, Quail Hawk." 



E. W. Nelson. " Birds of North luist- 

 ern Illinois." Bulletin Essex Institute, \"ol. 

 VHL, December. 



Cooper's Hawk : " Common summer resi- 

 dent. Arrives the last of .•\pril and departs 

 the last of September or first of October." 



£. yY\- Nelson. " Notes on Birds Ob- 

 served in Southern Illinois, between July 1 7 

 and September 4, 1875." Bulletin Essex 

 Institute, Vol. IX., 1877. 



Cooper's Hawk ; Rare. 



Cooper's Hawk is not mentioned in \icin- 

 ity of Cairo, in notes taken there. 



" O. iC- O.," Vol. 9, July and August, 1S84. 



" Birds collected near St. Louis," Julius 

 Hurler. 



Cooper's Hawk ; Transient, September 24, 

 October 19. 



" O. d O.," Vol. 8, March, 1883. 



"Cooper's Hawk," H. A. Kline, Polo, Ill- 

 inois. 



Dates of nests : May 1 1, 1-4, fresh ; May 

 15, 1-4, fresh ; May 15, 1-5, fresh ; May 17, 

 1-5, 1-5, slightly incubated. 



J). ]V. Ever/nan. " Birds of Carroll 

 County, Ind." 



Cooper's Havvk ; "A rare resident, espe- 

 cially so in winter. Nest found May 10, 

 1883." 



From the above reports I think we are 

 safe in saying the Cooper's Hawk is a resi- 

 dent of all parts of this State, but the major- 

 ity go and come with the migratory birds. 



It nests in suitable localities quite com- 

 monly, preferring dense patches of scrub and 

 black oak, on low ground. The nest is a 

 bulky affair of sticks, lined with bark, placed 

 near the trunk of the tree ; dimensions, 18 

 to 34 inches in diameter, 12 to 18 inches 

 deep. Nesting begins in April and con- 

 tinues through May. 



From 2 to 5 eggs constitute a set, with 3 

 or 4 the most common. 



They are usually a blue or greenish white 

 and unspotted, but become darker as incu- 

 bation advances. 



Some sets or even one egg in a set may 

 be blotched or spotted with reddish brown 

 or drab, but many of the spots will prove to 

 be blood stains, or tannin stains from the 

 ,oak sticks in the nest, if analyzed. 



Measurements of eggs are from 1 .85 x 1.45 

 to 2.15 X 1.57, with an average of about 1.95 



xi-55- 



Unfortunately no one seems to know the 

 period of incubation. 



The food of this Hawk consists of mice 

 and other small animals, reptiles, birds, poul- 

 try, etc. It is perhaps the greatest enemy 

 the Quail has. Dr. Strode has observed it 

 chasing them in their coverts very freciuent- 

 ly and says it is becoming more common in 

 winter, as they increase in numbers. 



It is the boldest of all the Hawks, coming 

 into house yards after poultry, and, when its 



