HAWKS 225 



As a winter bird the species occurs throughout the State at 

 dates between October and May, and some seasons there is a 

 regular influx of migrants so that locally they may even be 

 called common. As a summer resident it is much rarer, 

 occurring scattered through the portions of the State within 

 the Canadian fauna. They are very destructive to all forms 

 of bird life as well as the smaller mammals. Game birds and 

 rabbits especially suffer by this species, and while it is very 

 fond of poultry and will carry off the largest hens readily, the 

 damage in Maine is not especially great from this cause. 



The Goshawk is most abundant here at the season when 

 poultry is housed, while those breeding here are usually located 

 in more remote places where there is not much poultry. They 

 are, however, a very distinct menace to our game birds. I 

 have seen a Goshawk sit perfectly still on a tree, near the 

 trunk and erect so that it resembled a stub, and keep perfectly 

 still for a long time, but how quick the scene changed when 

 game appeared! A dash, and away with a Ruffed Grouse 

 before I could hardly catch my breath! 



They nest in late April or early May, placing the large 

 bulky structure of sticks and twigs, lined with hemlock bark, 

 green hemlock twigs, willow and poplar twigs, with the 

 expanding catkins attached, in some convenient tree. Often 

 the nest is in a small birch or maple not over thirty feet up, at 

 other times it is in an evergreen, either pine, spruce or fir, but 

 hard wood growth seems to be preferred by them. Two eggs 

 from a nest of sticks in a poplar tree were collected at Riding 

 Mts., Manitoba, April 30, 1889. These eggs were plain 

 bluish white and measure 2.26 x 1.73, 2.24 x 1.76. The shell 

 of the eggs has a peculiar pitted, granulated appearance. 



Such nests as I have seen in Maine were all with young, one 

 found in early June having small young covered with white 

 down, while others later contained young half fledged, but still 

 with^much of the down adhering to them. It is late July 

 before the young seem able to leave the nest. The number of 



