FALCONIDiE — THE FALCONS. 311 



sailing a good deal and at a great height, which is not tlie habit of the 

 lagopus, and was seen by him to kill a Duck while on the wing. It has 

 been seen to sit for an hour at a time on a stake by the side of marshes, 

 in an almost perpendicular position, as if dozing. It flies with great ease, 

 and occasionally M'ith great SMdftness, and rarely with any flapping of the 

 wings ; was most numerous on the Delaware in the winter, but was occasion- 

 ally to be seen there in the summer. Such is Wilson's account of its habits 

 as observed by him, and these are partially confirmed by Nuttall from his 

 own observations. It is, however, quite probable that they are mistaken in 

 claiming an essential or specific difference in the habits of the two former. 

 Mr. Audubon regarded it as the adult of the lagopus, and appears not to have 

 been familiar with its habits. 



Captain Blakiston mentions the occurrence of the dark bird on the Sas- 

 katchewan Plains, where the parent bird and three eggs were obtained by 

 M. Bourgeau, a French collector, in the summer of 1858, and where it is 

 spoken of as not uncommon. Mr. Andrew Mun-ay, in his Contributions to 

 the Natural History of the Hudson Bay Territories, records specimens from 

 Hudson Bay and the country lying between its western shore and Lake 

 Winnipeg. Dr. Gambel speaks of this bird as common in California. Dr. 

 Cooper refers to one obtained by Mr. Lorquin at San Francisco. Mr. Law- 

 rence cites it among the birds of New York. Mr. Boardman gives it as rare 

 near Calais. 'Mr. Verrill also gives it among the birds of Western Maine, 

 where the lagopus was not observed, but where this form was a regular 

 winter visitant. 



The Storers found the Black Hawk not uncommon on the cliffs near Bras 

 d'Or, and their observations of its habits, as contrasted with those of the still 

 more common Eough-legged Hawk, left no doubt in their mind of their 

 specific distinction. While the Black Hawk was observed to be a bold, 

 vigorous, and spirited bird, easy and swift in its motions, and preying upon 

 other birds while on the wing, the Eough-legged was comparatively sluggish, 

 inoffensive, and subsisted only upon rats, mice, moles, frogs, and other small 

 game. A nest containing young birds was found, and one of the latter 

 caught alive. Both old and young were in the same black plumage. The 

 young Hawk was fierce and intractable, and its whole air and manner were 

 utterly unlike the conduct of the young of the other species. Unfortunately, 

 it broke from its confinement and escaped. 



The eggs from New Jersey, attributed to this bird by Mr. Krider, vary in 

 the number and depth of coloring of their markings, the blotches in one 

 being darker and less generally distributed. They measure 2.06 by 1.69 in- 

 ches. Their ground-color is a yellowisli white, intermingled with which are 

 faint markings and blotches of a brownish-purple. Over these are diffused 

 confluent blotches of russet-brown. 



An egg from near Wiscasset, taken by Edmund Smith, Esq., the parent of 

 which was secured, measures 2.22 by 1.75 inches, has a white ground, and is 



