I20 FALCONID^ : HAWKS. 



chickens : so they died the death. Five or six eggs ap- 

 pear to be the usual nest-full ; seven are stated to have 

 been found in one clutch. They are nearly spheroidal, 

 measuring about 1.33 in length by 1.12 in breadth. The 

 ground-color is usually buffy, or pale yellowish-brown ; 

 this is blotched all over with dark brown, the splashes of 

 which are usually largest and most numerous toward the 

 greater end, at or around which they may run into a 

 crown or wreath. Some eggs are pale brown, minutely 

 dotted all over with dark brown ; some are white, with 

 pale brown spots ; and a few are whitish, without 

 any markings. It is a known fact that this Hawk will 

 lay again in the same nest if robbed of its eggs. An 

 instance is recorded of two sets of five eggs being 

 taken in succession from one nest. 



I have successfully reared the young, which exhibited 

 affectionate docility, refusing to leave when set at liberty 

 and returning at intervals to be replaced in its cage. Dr. 

 Coues narrates that while he was at Columbia, in South 

 Carolina, a neighbor had three Sparrow Hawks for some 

 time. As they had been taken from the nest when quite 

 young, they became in a measure reconciled to captivity. 

 They ate any kind of meat freely, and as they grew up, 

 began to display much of their natural spirit. When 

 tormented in the various ingenious ways people have of 

 "stirring up" caged birds, they would resent the indig- 

 nity by snapping the bill, beating with the wings, and 

 clutching with their talons at the offending cane or um- 

 brella tip. One of them was a cripple, having a broken 

 leg very badly set, and the other two used to bully him 

 dreadfully. One night, whether from not having been 

 fed sufficiently, or being in unusual bad humor, they set 

 upon him, killed him outright, and almost devoured him. 



