BIRDS OF ESSEX COUNTY. 



209 



Its abundance is well shown by the fact that one collector obtained for Mr. 

 William Brewster, at Georgetown, nine sets of eggs in 1897, between the dates 

 of April 1 ith and 25th inclusive. Four of the nests were in oaks from twenty 

 to forty feet from the ground and five were in pines from twenty-five to sixty 

 feet from the ground. Again, in 1900, one man found nine nests with eggs in 

 various parts of the County between April 23d and 28th. 



On October 4th, 1903, I saw four of these birds together in the Ipswich 

 dunes. 



This is the bird that the farmer calls a Hen Hawk and tries to shoot on 

 sight, while in reality it is one of his best friends. The record of stomach con- 

 tents of a specimen taken in Ipswich, — namely, a mouse and a grasshopper, — 

 is typical for the species. 



147 [342] Buteo swainsoni Bonap. 

 Swainson's Hawk. 



Accidental visitor from the west. 



There are three records of this rare Hawk for the County, as follows. A 

 female 1 taken at Hamilton (not Salem), on April 20th, 1872, by N. Butler. 

 The specimen is now in the collection of the Peabody Academy. A male taken 

 at Salem, on October 28th, 1889, by R. L. Newcomb, now in the same collection. 

 This bird has hitherto been unrecorded. Through the kindness of Mr. John 

 Robinson, I showed this specimen at a meeting of the Nuttall Ornithological 

 Club on November 7th, 1904, and compared it with specimens in Mr. Brewster's 

 museum. There is no doubt as to its identity. A female with undeveloped 

 ovaries, was taken at Essex, on May 29th, 1892, and is now in the collection of 

 Mr. William Brewster. 2 



Howe and Allen 3 omit the second record given above and add only one 

 other record for the State: a bird shot at Wayland, on September 12th, 1876. 



1 J. A. Allen : Bull. Essex Inst., vol. 10, p. 22, 1878. 



' Wm. Brewster : Auk, vol. 10, p. 82, 1893. 



3 R. H. Howe, Jr., and G. M. Allen: The Birds of Massachusetts, p. 6j, 1901. 



