FALCONID^ — THE FALCONS. 201 



to eat. Mr. Audubon received another, taken forty miles west of Charleston 

 by Mr. Francis Lee. This gentleman, as quoted by Audubon, mentioned its 

 sailing very beautifully, and quite high in the air, over a wet meadow, in 

 piirsuit of snipe. It would poise itself in the manner of the common 

 Sparrow Hawk, and, suddenly closing its wings, plunge towards its prey 

 with great velocity, making a peculiar sound with its wings as it passed 

 through the air. Its cries on being wounded resembled those of the Mis- 

 sissippi Kite. It was so shy that Mr. Lee was only able to ajDproach it on 

 horseback. 



Audubon states that Mr. AVard, his assistant, found this species breeding 

 on the Santee Eiver early in the month of March. Their nests were said to 

 be placed on low trees near the margin of tlie river, and to be not unlike 

 those of the common Crow, but without the substantial lining of its nests. 

 Mr. Ward also mentioned seeing them flying over the cane-brakes, in pur- 

 suit of large insects, in the manner of the Mississippi Kite, and finding 

 the birds very shy. 



In Southern Illinois it has been known to occur as far north as Mount 

 Carmel, where Mr. Eidgway saw a pair in July, flying about among the dead 

 trees bordering a lagoon near the Wabash Eiver. 



Mr. Audubon, in his visit to Texas, saw several of these birds flying at a 

 small elevation over the large marshes, and coursing in search of its prey in 

 the manner of the common Marsh Harrier. 



Dr. Heermann found the extensive marshes of Suisun, ISTapa, and Sacra- 

 mento Valleys the favorite resorts of these birds, especially during the win- 

 ter, and there they seemed to find a plentiful supply of insects and mice. 

 They ranged over their feeding-grounds in small flocks from a single pair up 

 to six or seven. He fell in with an isolated couple in the mountains be- 

 tween Elizabeth Lake and Williamson's Pass, hovering over a small fresh- 

 water niarsli. In July and August the young were quite abundant, from 

 which I)r. Heermann inferred that it does not migrate for the purposes of 

 incubation. Dr. Gambel, who procured his specimens at the Mission of St. 

 John, near Monterey, describes it as flying low and circling o^-er the i)lains 

 in the manner of a Circus, and as feeding on the small birds. It was easy 

 of approach when perched on trees, and uttered a loud shrill cry when 

 wounded, and fought viciously. 



Lieutenant Gilliss, who found them in Chile, describes the nest as com- 

 posed of small sticks, and states that the number of the eggs is from four 

 to six, and that they are of a dirty yellowish-white with brownish spots. 

 The common name of this Hawk in Chile is Bailarin (from the verb hailar, 

 to dance or balance), from the graceful and easy manner in which it seems 

 almost to float upward or to sink in the air. 



An egg of this species, in the collection of the Boston Society of Natural 

 History, measures 1.64 inches in length by 1.48 in breadth. In shape it is 

 very nearly spherical, and equally obtuse at either end. The ground-color, 



VOL. III. 26 



