THE MARSH HAWK. 495 
her “for keeps”; but, after all, it is well enough to remind her now and then 
that he is a very good fellow,—for she is a size larger than he and a little 
exacting in matters of courtesy. 
Not only are the Marsh Hawks wedded for life, but the male is very 
much devoted to his family. He assists in nest-building, shares the duty of 
incubation, and is assiduous in providing for his brooding mate. A nesting 
site is selected about the middle of April, customarily in the tall grass adjoin- 
Photo by the Author 
NEST AND EGGS OF 
Taken in Douglas County THE MARSH HAWK 
ing a swamp, altho latterly alfalfa fields have come to be great favorites. If 
the ground is wet, sticks are first laid down; but otherwise only grass, dead 
leaves, and weed-stems, with a little hair and moss or feathers, are used to 
build up a low platform, broad and slightly hollowed on top. Here four or 
five eggs, pale blue and commonly unmarked, are laid; but six is not unusual, 
and two sets of eight are on record, of which one is from this State. In 
Yakima County I once found a nest on the ground in a little opening of an 
aspen grove, the birds having probably retired to the woods to avoid the winds 
prevalent at that season. 
