374 LAND-BIRDS AND GAME-BIRDS 
coarse materials. It is built in a tree, near some body of 
water, sometimes several being near together. It is placed at 
various heights above the ground, but often near the top, even 
of a dead tree. In New England, two, three, or four eggs are 
laid about the first of May, or sometimes later. They average 
2°40 X 1°70 of an inch, and are usually creamy, buff, or red- 
dish, thickly spotted and blotched with rich brown of several 
shades, some of which are dark and others reddish. Occasion- 
ally the eggs are white, with a few large markings of umber- 
brown. 
(c). The Fish Hawks, like their tormentors the ‘‘ Bald” 
Eagles, are summer-residents in Florida, Arctic countries, and 
the lands between, but, unlike them, are very migratory, and 
do not winter in New England, where from April until late in 
the autumn they are common. They are rare, however, in 
Massachusetts, except during the migrations, and are said to 
breed no longer along the coast of this State, though a few 
undoubtedly do so in the interior, of which I bave had satis- 
factory evidence. They are everywhere most numerous on the 
sea-shore (as is observable in Maine), but they also resort to 
the neighborhood of rivers and large inland bodies of water. 
They are everywhere characterized by their sociability and af- 
fection, their perseverance and industry. They are well known 
frequently to migrate and build their nests in companies, to 
remain mated for life, and to feed their young longer, even 
more abundantly, than any other hawks. Though repeatedly 
robbed by the tyrannical eagles, they continue to fish undis- 
heartened, and are said never to feed in any other way. 
Their method of obtaining their prey is so interesting, that 
were it not known even to children, from being frequently de- 
scribed in books, it would daily excite wonder. It cannot, 
however, fail to hold the attention of any one who may see it 
for the first time, and I have never looked upon one of these 
birds without instinctively watching his motions. The flight 
of the Fish Hawk is much varied, but he may always be recog- 
nized by the prominent bend of his wings. When traveling 
directly forward, he flies with rather heavy flappings, not un- 
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