34 



fastened by a steel spring to the lower 

 part of the hoof, and a nut that can 

 be screwed tight with a wrench. The 

 bottom of this steel shoe is coated 

 with India rubber to prevent balling 

 and clogging. The horses become 

 quite expert in wearing these shoes 

 and seem to prefer wearing them to 

 going withotit. 



Hawks of West Virginia. 



THE OREGON NATURALIST. 



Peculiarities of Eastern Nests. 



BY W. EDWARDS 

 MARSH HAWK. 



Summer resident; tolerably com- 

 mon. Its food consists of mice, go- 

 phers and small birds. 



SHARP SHINNED HAWK. 



Resident; common. It is often 

 found in the farming districts. Its 

 food consists of small birds and young 

 poultry. 



cooper's hawk. 



Resident; tolerably common. It is 

 bold specie which feeds largely on 

 poultry, game and other birds. 



RED TAILED HAWK. 



Resident; common along the river 

 bottoms. It is generally known as 

 the Chicken-hawk. Feeds principal- 

 ly on mice. 



RED SHOULDERED HAWK. 



Resident; tolerably common. It is 

 found principall}' in the mountain 

 districts. Feeds on small mammals, 

 reptiles and insects. 



BROAD WINGED HAWK. 



Resident; tolerably conmion. Feeds 

 on mice, reptiles and insects. 



SPARROW HAWK. 



Resident; abundant throughout all 

 sections of the state. Feeds princi- 

 pally on gophers mice and insects. 



My collection of nests, although 

 none have any very great peculiarity, 

 contains a few with certain features 

 that might be mentioned. Some dif- 

 ference more or less exists between 

 all, and each has some characteristic 

 introduced into the structure, show- 

 ing various tastes of the birds even of 

 the same species. Fiist in promin- 

 ence is one of the Baltimore Oriole, 

 which arrives in Ma.ssachusetts about 

 May 15th. Their nests are invariably 

 constructed of glossy, flax-like weeds, 

 which are woven together into a 

 pocket nearly cylindrical in shape, 

 pendulous and very strong. 



Often they are hung from the elms 

 of the town and a dozen or more can 

 frequently be counted on a single 

 street. Probably a few of my readers 

 may know that certain districts with- 

 in 20 miles of Boston are infested by 

 the destructive Ocneiia dispar (gipsy 

 moth). These are exterminated by 

 placing strips of coarse bagging 

 around the infected trees. On June 8, 

 1894, I secured the Oriole's nest, built 

 20 feet from the ground in an apple 

 tree, and woven entirely with strands 

 of this bagging. It is the prettiest 

 nest that I have ever seen, measi:ring 

 zYz inches in width and 4 in depth. 

 It contained the rare set of six eggs, 

 the usual number being four or five. 



Another exception is one of the 

 Ampeliscedrorum (cedar bird). It is 

 an established fact birds will invari- 

 ably choose material closest at hand 

 for building pui poses, provided that 

 it ans.vers all requirements. In this 

 instance the bird used feathers nearly 



