Yol 'i9i9 XVI ] Mxjnro, Birds of the Okanagan Valley. 67 



If not disturbed too much they will remain in the same clump of trees all 

 winter, not coming to the ground for days at a time. They sit very close 

 and often will not leave the trees until one throws stones or branches at 

 them. The ground under one of these roosting trees, in the spring, re- 

 sembles a poultry yard with accumulation of droppings. 



During October, Blue Grouse become quite wild. When flushed they 



■ invariably fly down hill and alight in thickly foliaged firs or pines. Until 



one knows what to look for, they are very hard to find in these trees. 



They stand parallel with the branch, perfectly rigid, neck stretched, tail 



closed and slightly elevated — a strained and most ungraceful pose. 



They are fond of sitting on rocky ledges or slide rock, on sunny days, 

 and match the color of the rocks so perfectly that one seldom sees them 

 until they flush. A Blue Grouse thundering down a steep mountain-side, 

 through heavy timber, affords the most difficult sporting shot of any 

 Canadian Grouse. 



Circus hudsonius. Marsh Hawk. — Common summer resident; a 

 few remain through the winter. Two nests were found in the tules on the 

 shore of Swan Lake. 



May 15, 1916. Five eggs, incubation advanced. Nest in a clearings 

 in the tules, about four feet square, that had been trampled down by the 

 bird ; composed of a pile of grass and weed stalks on a foundation of sticks, 

 that raised the nest above the wet ground. The grass was placed all the 

 same way, a shallow depression at one end held the eggs. 



May 18, 1916. Three fresh eggs, one a third larger than the others, 

 nest similar to number one, but slightly smaller. 



Several times I have seen a Marsh Hawk strike at a Sandpiper. A 

 female shot in September, 1912, had the remains of two Solitary Sandpipers 

 in her stomach. On a foggy September morning, I once saw a Marsh 

 Hawk dash into a flock of Green-winged Teal and try. unsuccessfully,- to 

 lift one from the water. 



Buteo borealis calurus. Western Red-tail.— This is the charac- 

 teristic hawk of the lower mountains. They are equally at home in the 

 dense coniferous forests at the edge of cultivated land, in the open park 

 country of the yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa) or in the midst of deep- 

 canyons and rock cliffs. 



The Red-tail arrives in the Okanagan early in May and leaves in October.. 

 I have no winter records. Various small mammals, such as ground squir- 

 rels (Citellus), pine-squirrels (Sciurus), and pikas (Ochotona), afford an 

 ample food supply and one would expect Buteos and raptores generally, 

 to breed here in large numbers; but such is not the case. Red-tails are 

 probably the most common of the larger hawks (except during the periodic 

 invasions of Swainson's Buzzards in big grasshopper years) but they are 

 not abundant, and one does not see the large migrations that are a feature 

 of the coast-belt of British Columbia. 



The same nests are used for several years, usually built in tall coniferous 

 trees, forty to sixty feet above the ground. A site commanding a view of 

 open range or valley is preferred. The following nests are typical. 



