FALCONIDiE.— NAUCLEEUS FURCATUS. 39 



• 

 informed, by letter, by Mr. Thiire Kumlien, of Fort Atkinson, an intelligent and 

 reliable naturalist. A pair of these Hawks Avere observed by him in that vicinity, 

 in the summer of 1854. They were evidently breeding, although he was not able 

 to discover their nest. 



Mr. Gosse mentions this Hawk as a visitant of Jamaica, on the authority of Mr. 

 Hill, and Dr. Gundlach gives it as a bird of Cuba,' although it is not stated that it 

 breeds in either island. It is not clearly ascertained to be a bird of South America, 

 and probably is not found there, except accidentally, unless the species known as 

 Elanoides yctapa^ which is very similar, proves to be identical.'^ Dr. Woodhonse, in 

 his report upon the birds observed in the expedition down the Zuni and Colorado 

 Rivers, speaks of this Hawk as common in Texas, and also in the country of the 

 Creek and Cherokee nations. He confirms the accounts which have been received 

 of its fondness for the neighborhood of streams, and adds, that along the Arkansas 

 and its tributaries it was very abundant. It does not appear to have been observed 

 in California by either Dr. Gambel or Dr. Heermann. It is a great wanderer, and 

 instances are on record of its occurrence even in Europe, where, however, its ajipear- 

 ance is only an accident, and does not justify its being classed as a European bird.^ 



This Hawk constructs its nest on tall trees, usually overhanging or near running 

 water. The nest is like that of the Crow in its general appearance. It is constructed 

 externally of dry twigs and sticks, intermixed with which are great quantities of 

 the long Spanish moss peculiar to the Southern States. The nest is lined with dry 

 grasses, leaves, and feathers. 



The eggs are described by Mr. Audubon as from four to six in number, of a green- 

 ish-white color, with a few irregular blotches of dark brown at the larger end. I 

 have in my possession the drawing of an egg obtained by Dr. Trudeau in Louisiana, 

 and Avhich was made by that gentleman. It is very nearly spheroidal, and its meas- 

 urements are, length l^f inches, breadth \^-^ inches. It corresponds with Mr. 

 Audubon's description of the egg of this Hawk. 



I am greatly disappointed in being compelled to dismiss this species for the pres- 

 ent without the illustration of a single e^^. It breeds, with more or less frequency, 

 on the banks of the rivers of nearly all the Southern States. My friend. Dr. 

 KoUock, of Cheraw, S. C, has made repeated efforts to obtain the egg of this Hawk, 

 but thus far has been too late for them. In May, 1855, he succeeded in finding a 

 nest, and ascended to it ; but, to his great disappointment, it was found to contain only 

 young. This fact, however, is not without its value, as it fixes the period at which 

 their incubation commenced at about the 1st of April, which is very nearly as soon 

 as they are usually observed to make their appearance in that part of the coun- 

 try. The nest was on a large tree, not near the trunk, but on one of its projecting 

 branches, and somewhat difficult of approach. 



' It is not given as a Cuban bird by Lembeye, in his Aves de la Isla de Ciiba. 



- According to Viellot, it is found in Peru, and even as far south as Buenos Ayrcs. This may refer 

 to the present species, or, as is supposed, to a very similar but distinct one. ^ 



3 Two specimens are said to have been captured in Europe. One of these was in Argyleshire, Scot- 

 land, in 1772. The other in Yorkshire, England, in 1805. 



