THE OOLOGIST 



31 



tluit " during the season of incubation the 

 males congregate and remain apart from 

 the females, till the young are nearly fidl 

 grown ; they then join them, and remain 

 together till the following spring." The 

 writer's experience is that he never had two 

 adult males in sight at the same time from 

 May till September, but has seen the male 

 with the i'emale and young, and has seen 

 him cover the retreat of the female and 

 young at the risk of liis life till they were 

 safe. Also after the young were grown, 

 have as often seen the male and female sep- 

 arate as together, except when budding, 

 when from four to a dozen usually congre- 

 gate to bud, but separate when they fly oif 

 the trees, and come from different ways 

 when they assemble, as though the meet- 

 ing place were agreed upon beforehand. 



There is one habit of this bird which I 

 have never seen meniioned by writers. 

 P^very fall, usually in October, considerable 

 numbers of Grouse fly into our villages 

 and even large cities, going into barns and 

 ont-houses through open doors, and allow- 

 ing themselves to be taken when they could 

 easily escape. They also often fly through 

 glass doors and windows, killing themselves 

 in doing so. In cases where they are not 

 molested they sometimes remain several 

 days in the gardens and outbuildings, seem- 

 in<; to be as tame as domestic ibwl. As 

 this occurs when the birds are fully grown, 

 and when food is always abundant, it is 

 hard to give any motive for their doing so. 

 They usually come singly, though I have 

 known of one instance where there were 

 two, and they are as apt to come into the 

 middle of large villages as to remote farm 

 houses. Does this bird have the same hab- 

 it in other states? 



Albino birds appear to be somewhat 

 more plentiful this year than usual, or col- 

 lectors have been unusually vigilant. Rob- 

 ins, Sparrows, Swallows, Redbirds, Hawks 

 and some other species, a few with pink 

 eyes, have been taken quite recently. They 

 make valuable cabinet specimens. 



The Marsh Harrier (Circus hud- 

 sonius). 



fT^HE Marsh Hawk is an excellent mous- 

 er, and is probably of more service to 

 the agriculturist and farmer in this respect 

 than any other diurtuil bird of prey. Just 

 before and at sundown, numbers may often 

 be seen skimming over the meadows, close 

 to the ground. New mown fields with here 

 and there a hay-cock are a hunting ground 

 always prefei-red ; for a harvest of mice, 

 driven from their retreats and hardly know- 

 ing whither to go, are anticipated and ea- 

 gerly snatched by the silent birds. They 

 are seen in the uplands and stubble places 

 quite frequently, but here, as in meadows, 

 their prey consists principally of mice. 

 When flying, they proceed quite close to the 

 ground, and seldom mount to any consid- 

 erable elevation. On several occasions it 

 has been observed that Sparrow Hawks 

 harrass these birds, especially when the lat- 

 ter fly more than a few yards high over the 

 ground ; and they are not a match in valor 

 for the little aggressors. 



When hunting for prey, the Marsh Hawk 

 seems to be quite oblivious of everything 

 but its own affairs, for it will commonly fly 

 almost directly into the gunner's face, dis- 

 covering its position only when it is too late 

 to retreat. Even then, if the shooter is not 

 quick, he cannot help noticing how grace- 

 fully its course is changed ; a swift turn up- 

 ward or to one side, without a flap of the 

 wings and away he goes, only to resume 

 his hunt when a few rods away. This ap- 

 parent carelessness does not appear to be 

 temporary nor individual, for we have al- 

 ways observed it more or less in the spe- 

 cies. If the collector is careful to make 

 himself as inconspicuous as possible, he may 

 obtain excellent specimens much easier 

 thau of most other Hawks, relying upon 

 the habit mentioned above. 



The Marsh Hawk builds its nest on the 

 ground, or near it. The eggs are clear 

 bluish-white, spotless, about the size of a 

 Broad- winged Hawk's egg, and four in 

 number. 



