Henninger-Jones — On Fai.cones of North America. 213 



water. It is also a bird of the open ground, where it feeds 

 after the manner of the Rough-leg. 



Food. 



Dr. A. K. Fisher says : "The food of this Hawk consists al- 

 most exclusively of small mammals and reptiles, and, like the 

 Rough-leg, never attacks birds. 



Nest. 



"The nest is usually built in a tree at no great distance 

 above the ground, but when trees are not available it is placed 

 on the shelves of some of the earth cliffs which abound in cer- 

 tain parts of the West. Like that of other large hawks, it is 

 composed of good-sized sticks and coarse herbage of one kind 

 or another, and is lined with softer material than the bulk of 

 the structures is composed of. When such thin.'^s existed on 

 the plains, the ribs and smaller bones of the buffalo were used 

 in the construction of the nest, often forming a large part of 

 it." (Fisher). 



Eggs. 



Three or four in number, deposited early in May, and by 

 the middle of July the young are able to leave the nest. 

 (Fisher). 



The difficulty of securing specimens suitable for making pictures 

 has made it necessary to so combine pictures in the plates that spe- 

 cific reference to specimens seems inadvisable. — Ed. 



