THE DUCK HAWK— PEREGRINE. 9 



on the gth, but only saw the old nest, the birds behaving as before. Ten days 

 later he made another visit, and, creeping carefully to the summit of the cliff, at a 

 point near the eyry already spoken of, he siw the female, on looking over the cliff, 

 sitting on the nest, and but five or six yards distant. She eyed him fiercely for an 

 instant, and then, scrambling from the nest to the edge of the narrow shelf support- 

 ing it, launched into the air. In a twinkling Mr. Bennett's unerring aim sent her 

 tumbling dead at the foot of the precipice several hundred feet below. The nest 

 contained four eggs, which were soon safely secured, and the body of the female 

 was obtained from the foot of the cliff". The male soon coming about was shot at, 

 but he was too shy to come within range, excepting once when the gun was being 

 reloaded. The eggs were all laid after April gth, and their contents showed, April 

 19th, that they had been incubated but a day or two. Incubation seems, in this 

 case, to have conmienced several weeks later than usual, which may have been 

 owing to the late snows and unusual coldness of the weather this year during the 

 first half of April. The situation of the eyry was near the highest part of the 

 mountain, about one-third of the length of the mountain from its south end, on a 

 narrow shelf in the rock, eight or ten feet fjom the top of a nearly perpendicular 

 cliff, 150 or 200 feet in height, and was inaccessible except to a bold climber, and 

 at one particular point. The nest was merely a slight excavation, sufficient to 

 contain the eggs ; no accessory material had been added. The site had been 

 previously occupied, and probably for several years ; and for weeks before the 

 eggs were laid was carefully guarded by the bold and watchful birds." Coues says, 

 " These four eggs averaged 2.22 long by ].68 broad, with 2.32 by 1.71, and 2.16 by 

 1.65 as ma.xima and minima, respectively. The smallest was larger than the one 

 measured by Dr. Brewer (^2.00 by 1.56), which he obtained in Labrador. They 

 also varied considerably in contour, and in heaviness and extent of coloration they 

 showed a series from the darkest and most nearly uniform to the lightest and most 

 sparsely marked, in which latter the contrast between the white ground and the 

 blotches was striking." 



Description of the darkest Egg. "The general color is chocolate brown, darker 

 and more dense and uniform about the ends, the part about the middle being 

 lighter, varied with small irregular blotches and specks of a darker tint than the 

 ground color. The color of the smaller end is a nearly uniform dull red-ochre. 

 There is also an irregular belt of scattered and apparently very superficial blotches 

 of very dark brown or nearly black." 



Dcseriptum of lightest Egg. " The greater end of the egg, which in the egg of 

 most birds is the end most subject to markings and to the greatest depth of color, 

 is white, sprinkled sparingly with reddish specks ; while the smaller end is deep 

 bright brick-red, here and there relieved by small specks and patches of white 

 ground-color. About the middle of the egg the colors are in more equal propor- 

 tions, the white patches becoming larger on the smaller end toward the middle, and 

 the red patches on the larger end increase toward the same point, where the colors 



B 



