AVERY BIRD COLLECTION 49 
and fire. The hawk was flying fast and had made some 
twenty yards more before I pressed the trigger; she must 
have been sixty yards from me, but a number five shot 
took her right wing close to the body, and down she came 
with the cry of distress peculiar to Cooper’s hawk when 
severely wounded: ‘Chiteree! Chiteree! Chiteree!’ Whop! 
She struck the ground loud enough to be heard a hundred 
yards.” 
Such wealth of detail seems to indicate that the Doctor 
derived more than the ordinary collector’s pleasure from 
the taking of specimens of this species. It might be in- 
ferred too that he loved his pigeons. But it is now well 
known that Cooper’s hawk is really chargeable with most 
of the pilfering of poultry yards usually blamed upon 
the slow-flying, rodent-eating, broad-winged, red-shoul- 
dered, and red-tailed hawks. 
“Common. Resident. Breeds. This hawk seems to 
be the greatest enemy of domestic fowls. But above all 
birds, he seems to prefer the tame pigeon. Two or three 
times a week my pigeons have to fly for their lives. When 
very hungry a Cooper’s hawk will make repeated attempts 
at capturing his quarry before he will desist. Several 
years ago I fired both barrels of my gun at one of these 
hawks while in pursuit of my pigeons. In less than thir- 
ty minutes he returned and carried off a pigeon.” (1890d.) 
No. 35. Female. Greensboro. Sept. 27, 1887. W. C. Avery. 
No. 179. Male. Greensboro. Aug. 1, 1889. W. C. Avery. 
No. 232. Female. Greensboro. Sept. 30, 1889. W. C. Avery. 
No. 399. Female. Greensboro. Mar. 5, 1890. W. C. Avery. 
No. 440. Female. Greensboro. Mar. 12, 1890. W. C. Avery. 
No. 812. Male. Greensboro. Feb. 8, 1891. W. C. Avery. 
No. 946. Female. Greensboro. Oct. 2, 1891. W. C. Avery. 
No. 1020. Male. Greensboro. Feb. 3, 18938. W. C. Avery. 
67. BUTEO BOREALIS BOREALIS (Gmelin). 
RED-TAILED HAWK. 
It is interesting to find that Dr. Avery’s first specimen 
of this bird, taken Jan. 20, 1878, 10 miles west of Greens- 
boro, was sent to Dr. Elliott Coues. 
This note, published in 1890, would indicate that the 
Doctor paid little attention to Oology “Winter resident. 
Has never been found breeding here to my knowledge.” 
