THE NEW SPORT OF “HAWKING” 
289 
trees in timber-belts or isolated patches, but it is also partial 
to ground-building on the slojDes of rocky knolls of the prairie 
from the central parts of North Dakota westward. In either 
case, when the nest is approached, the owners hover and 
scream with considerable boldness and vigor. The eggs are 
laid early in the season, about the hrst of May, — the laying¬ 
time here also of the Red-tail, — and are from three to hve in 
number, usually handsomely marked specimens. 
On the Memorial Day just spoken of, I saw an interesting 
nest. It was in an oak back from a lake, about forty feet from 
the ground. From far out on the prairie I could see the 
head of the female sticking up over the edge. Away she 
went, spreading her white tail, as we drew near, and mani¬ 
festing her displeasure as long as we remained. Part of the 
time she flew back and forth just over the tree-tops with 
angry screams, and then she would rise in the air and soar 
with her mate. There were five young, picturesque indeed, 
as were their fine white-tailed parents and the beautiful sur¬ 
roundings. 
I was also privileged to see one other raptorial bird in 
Dakota that I had never seen before. Though I had occa¬ 
sionally seen the Bald Eagle in the East, circling, or perched 
on some tree, usually near lake or river, the majestic Golden 
Eagle was a stranger to me. One day I was shown a splen¬ 
did specimen alive that had been caught in a trap, and not 
long after that, early in June, as we were jogging along over 
the wild prairie, uninhabited by man, away up near the Mani¬ 
toba boundary, I saw an enormous bird sitting on the ground. 
We drove toward it, and got near enough for a good view 
with our glasses before it flew. Spreading its great wings, it 
majestically flapped into the air. After a little upward flight, 
it extended its wings to their full length, and without another 
effort, simply soared in circles, up and up, until it actually 
