NESTS AND EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 99 



414. American Peregrine Falcon; Duck Hawk — falco peregrinus 

 N^vius. Creamy white to reddish brown, spotted, dotted and blotched, 

 with reddish-brown and chocolate of varying shades, sometimes so thickly 

 covered as to obscure the ground ; two to five eggs are laid, oftener three 

 or four. The Great-footed Hawk is much noted for its swiftness of flight 

 and great daring; is cosmopolitan in its several geographical garbs; irreg- 

 ularly distributed throughout North America; is not considered common 

 anywhere, and breeds from latitude 38° northward. A fine specimen was 

 killed, a few years ago, in the vicinity of Columbus, Ohio, on the Scioto 

 River. It is not rare in Northern Ohio. The Duck Hawk nests on 

 trees, in their cavities, or cliffs, or on the ground. It follows ducks 

 and other water-fowl in their migrations, pursuing and striking them 

 down while on the wing; and is sometimes very bold, seizing the bird 

 which the hunter has killed, carrying it off when almost within his 

 reach. This imprudent courage often proves fatal to him. A set of 

 three eggs, collected on Resolution Island, Hudson Bay, June 3, 1884, 

 now in Mr. Norris' collection, exhibits the following dimensions: 2.07 by 

 1.65, 2.18 by I 70, 2.12 by 1.71. 



417. Pigeon Hawk — ^salon columbarius. Varying from a whitish 

 to a deep reddish-brown, spotted, dotted and blotched irregularly and usu- 

 ally very thickly with reddish-brown of varying shades; the eggs resemble 

 those of the Duck Hawk; they vary in size from 1.50 to 1.80 in length by 

 about 1.30 in width; four to six in number. This neat, spirited little 

 Falcon is generally distributed throughout North America. It breeds 

 from latitude 42? northward, and has been recorded as breeding in north- 

 ern Ohio. It receives its name from its size and color rather than from 

 any habit of preying upon pigeons. The nest is placed on rocky cliffs, 

 on the branches or in holes of trees. Mr. Brewster, (Bull. Nutt. Club, 

 October, 1882,) describes a nest which was built in a dense spruce, and 

 was very bulky, as large as a Crow's, composed chiefly of bark, sticks, 

 and a lining of finer bark and horse-hair. 



419. Aplomado Falcon — rhynchofalco fusco-c^rulescens. This 

 beautiful Falcon, known also as the Femoral Falcon, is common, and has 

 a wide range in South and Central America; and specimens of the bird» 

 its nests and eggs, have been taken in Southern Texas, along the banks of 

 the Rio Grande. The nest is placed in trees and bushes, composed of 

 twigs and a little grass for lining. Three eggs measure 1.78 by 1.34, 1.84 

 by 1.29, 1.73 by 1.32. The groundcolor is white, thickly dotted with 

 reddish ; over these are somewhat heavier markings of deeper shades of 

 brown. 



