WILD WINGS 
284 
consideration of a dollar, — and climbed to two of the nests, 
from each of which he safely brought down three large white, 
spotted eggs. One tree gave him such a dangerous climb 
that he did not dare to descend by climbing-irons alone, and 
he sat up in a crotch until I could secure a rope at a distant 
farmhouse. The female in each case left the nest as we 
approached, and the pair circled about overhead with the 
same harsh squeals to which I was accustomed. 
I found the Sparrow Hawks very common in most of the 
timber-belts that I visited, as well as in the extensive forests 
of the Turtle Mountain country. One or both of the pair will 
be seen perched on some bare limb, and not far away is the 
hollow they have chosen for their nest, usually a rotted-out 
knot-hole. Early in June, if not before, the female deposits 
her four or hve brownish, finely speckled eggs, and then the 
pair become more solicitous over intrusion. The female 
darts from the hole, when both birds fly about and scold 
angrily. The eggs, though always of the unmistakable 
l)rown type of the Falcons, vary a good deal. In one very 
curious set that I secured by the Sheyenne River, two of the 
eggs are almost round and a little irregular, looking a good 
deal like small potatoes. 
The Swainson’s Hawk is a typical bird of the prairies, 
a large, heavy creature, slow but graceful in flight. It is one 
of the commonest sights to see it soaring over the prairie, 
especially if there be timber near, or standing on a knoll or 
a fence-post. It is the tamest hawk of my acquaintance, and 
it will often allow one to drive, or even walk, very close to it. 
Many an isolated tree, even though but a few feet high, bears 
a bulky nest that looms up miles away as one traverses the 
plain. I have also found the nest in clumps of bushes. In 
the many that I have examined, the number of eggs has been 
from two to four, usually three. The female sits on them 
