THE FLOKIDA KED-SHOULDEliED HAWK. 225 



of some shady tree. One can at this tiii'e often approach within a few feet 

 of them before they Avill fly. 



"This variety of the Red-shouhlered ILnvk seems to he mucli mon^ 

 sociable tlian the northern species. I liave often durinj>- the inatino- season 

 seen flocks, consisting' of from two to four i)airs of birds, playing too-ether. 

 They chased one another around in apparent sport, circling through the air 

 and uttering their shrill calls after the manner of the Swallow-tailed Kite. 



"Their food consists principally of mice, Florida rats, young rabbits, the 

 small gray squirrel found in this State, and jjrobaljly an occasional frog or 

 small snake. A very few of the inhabitants of this locality — chiefly those 

 that formerly lived in the North — informed me that these Hawks Avould catch 

 domestic fowls. I have never seen an occurrence of the kind, although I 

 have lived for twelve winters and spnngs where both these birds and poultry 

 were common. 



"The eggs of this bird average considerably smaller than those of the 

 northern subspecies, being but little larger than those of the Broad-winged 

 Hawk. Undoubtedly in the majority of cases two is the numl)er laid, as all 

 their nests, and I have examined a dozen or more, contained either two Ciio-.s or 

 two young bii'ds, and most of the eggs f(.)und were partly incubated. Where 

 the same species of bird nests both in Florida and in the North, or where a 

 northern bird has a Florida variety, the eggs of the southern bird nsually 

 average fewer in number and less in size, and there is less variation in the 

 numbers found in a set. 



"I could never distinguish any diff"erence in the call notes of the Florida 

 Red-shouldered Hawk and the northern bird. Both use the same whistle — 

 like 'whee-ee-e,' and the mated birds also assist each other in incubation. 

 They make nuich ado when disturbed at their nests, but generally take good 

 care not to come too near while these are being examined. I believe but a 

 single brood is raised in a season. I first noticed tliese birds mating during 

 the present 'season, about February 1, 1891. The earliest date of nesting 

 was February 20, and young birds just hatched were found by me on 

 March 20. 



"The following description of several nests will give a fair idea of tlieir 

 mode of building. I found one on March 8, 1888, four miles east of San 

 Mateo, Florida, in a small cypress swamp. It Avas situated in a pine tree, in 

 a crotch 57 feet from the ground, and Avas coni[)osed of sticks and lined with 

 pine needles, bits of pine and cypress bark, Spanish and green moss, and a 

 few feathers from the birds themselves. It contained two nearly fresh eggs. 

 Another, found on March 20, 1888, not far from the former localit}', Avas ])laced 

 in tlie top of a cypress tree about 65 feet from the ground, and resembled the 

 first one in every respect, except that no S[)anish moss was used in tlie lining 

 of the nest. It likewise contained tAvo eggs, Avhich Avere al)out one-fourth 

 incubated. On A})ril 2, 1888, I found a third, about miles southeast of 

 San Mateo, also near the edge of a small cypress swamp. This was placed 

 26957— Bull. 1- 15 



