HAWKS 221 



times about February 5, 1905, (Brownson, J. M. 0. S., 1905, p. 21) ; one 

 taken at Westbrook, January 31, 1907, (Norton, J. M. 0. S. 1907, p. 9). 

 Franklin; common summer resident, (Swain). Hancock; local summer 

 resident, (Knight). Kennebec; rare, (Gardiner Branch). Knox; summer, 

 (Rackliff). Oxford; breeds commonly, (Nash). Penobscot; a not rare 

 local summer resident, (Knight). Piscataquis; common, breeds, (Homer). 

 Sagadahoc; common spring and fall, (Spinney). Somerset; not common 

 summer resident, (Morrell) ; saw a flock of over a hundred migrating at 

 Jackman in August, 1895, (Knight). Waldo; breeds quite generally, 

 (Knight). Washington; abundant summer resident, (Boardman). York; 

 (Adams). 



The first stragglers usually arrive about April fifth and the 

 great bulk have left by late September though an occasional 

 straggler is found even up to late October and it is exceptionally 

 found near Portland in January and February. As a breeding 

 bird it occurs generally distributed through the entire State, 

 being more or less local and one pair of birds exercising control 

 over considerable territory to the exclusion of others of their 

 kind. 



The nest is usually situated in a spruce, fir or hemlock tree, 

 occasionally in one of the hard wood trees or even in a hole 

 in a tree. The nests in trees are situated on horizontal limbs, 

 composed of sticks and twigs, hemlock bark, cedar bark and 

 similar materials. Many nests are not lined, others are lined 

 with fine cedar bark, grass, green hemlock twigs, pine needles 

 and occasionally poplar leaves. 



Three to five eggs, usually the latter number, are laid, and 

 these are among the most handsome eggs one can desire to see. 

 The eggs are pale white or pale greenish white, most hand- 

 somely and heavily spotted, blotched, specked and marled with 

 light brown, dark brown, drab, fawn, lavender, and even black. 



Many eggs are wreathed about the larger end, others 

 wreathed about the middle, or exceptionally I have seen eggs 

 wreathed about the smaller end unmarked elsewhere. Other 

 eggs are very evenly spotted and blotched over the entire surface, 

 in fact different sets are invariably utterly different in markings 

 etc., while the eggs from the same set usually resemble each 



