172 



Cameron \ N 



r Auk 

 1 Vpril 



operation earlier than in L908. On May i.*>. 1 watched the cock 

 binl trampling down material in the nest, and soon Ins mate came 

 to Ins assistance. After a time, disturbed by my presence, the 

 pair took wine to an almost invisible height, crossing and re- 

 crossing each other in circles. The female began to la\ on Ma\ 24, 

 and I observed her deposit her third and last egg on May 26. 

 After sitting hard for about twenty minutes, she stood on the nest 

 edge, spread her wings, and gently glided off. Aided by the high 

 wind, she soared in ascending gyrations until lost to view. 1 now 

 had a good importunity to examine the nest, which was much en- 

 larged by the addition of cottonwood and choke-cherry sticks. 

 It was thickly lined inside with cottonwood hark, which falls ott' 

 in groat layers from dead trees. The hawks could easily obtain 

 the soft, fibrous, interior strips, and it was this substance that I 

 had seen both birds arranging in the nest. The latter was also 

 adorned at one end with a bunch of green weeds after the fashion 

 oi the Golden Eagle. In color two eggs were unmarked greenish 

 white, but the third egg had a large yellowish brown blotch. The 



immense nest was out of all proportion to the eggs which were 

 placed in one corner. On June 3, the eggs reposed in exactly 



the same position upon a thick layer of green cottonwood leaves, 

 1 cannot leave this part of the subject without referring to the 

 persecution oi this hawk by Kingbirds (Tyrannus tyrantws) which 

 frequently nest in close proximity to the site chosen by it. In one 

 instance during 1899, a pair oi Kingbirds had built their nest in 

 some choke cherries immediately below that of the hawk, which 

 was in an ash tree growing amidst them. Yet another Swainson's 

 hawk, nesting close by, was so unfortunate as to have a pair of 

 Sparrow Hawks . s rtttt }>hal<vna^ domiciled alongside. 



Neither of the Swainson Hawks could Bap out of the nesting tree 

 without being immediately attacked by one or other of these ag- 

 ssive birds sometimes by all oi them together. In this con- 

 nection it is interesting to read the following, as quoted from t'apt. 

 Charles E. Bendire by Or. A. K. Fisher. 1 "Lieut. Benson writes 

 me that, after the Arkansas fCingbil - ticalis) began 



to build, he invariably found one of their nests in any tree that 



U;>>vks mm! Owls of the United s 



