irir?j Cambron, Votes on Swainaon'a Hawk. 17o 



from the mice, birds, and frogs in (went y-four hours after consum- 

 ing them, bul never drinks water ■ ;i peculiarity which he shares 

 with captive Golden Eagles as above mentioned. 



The young buzzard's cry differed according to liis age. When he 

 w:is quite young it resembled ;i kitten as stated, but by the end 

 of August, when he was seven weeks old, it became loud and shrill 

 like the scream of a sea-gull, though more piercing. At two months 

 old In 1 developed a musical cry, the appealing tone of which never 

 failed to create a deep impression upon all who heard it. It con- 

 sisted of four notes insistently repeated like E I , E I . I he second E 

 being a half tone lower than the lirsl, and may he described as long 

 sustained wails followed by short staccato notes. While these 



four notes are difficult to express in words they could be easily 

 reproduced upon the violin, and arc not unlike the plaintive but 

 shriller tones of the British Lapwing ( I r anellus vanellus) when hover- 

 ing over its breeding grounds. The buzzard commenced this 

 lament whenever my wife or 1 were present, and continued it as 

 long as cither remained with him. The ornithologist ('ones did 



not fail to notice it, and writing of two captive birds remarks: 

 " Both this and the younger one before him had a peculiarly plain- 

 tive whistle to signify hunger or a sense of loneliness, a note that 

 was almost musical in intonation." ' 



As all the Hawk's wants were Supplied, we considered that this 



must l>e a baby cry to express recognition of friends and apprecia- 

 tion o\' their company. This piteous cry only lasted for a mouth, 



as on October .">, before the buzzard was quite three months old, 



he became entirely silent, moped, and fasted for six days in sue- 

 on. I [is despondent mood lasted for five weeks, and only once 

 in all that time would the Hawk come to me for food, although 

 he occasionally ate what was brought t<> him. He seemed quite 



indifferent t<> the society of a young Ferruginous Rough-leg (Archi- 

 buteo ferrugineus) which was confined with him. Here was indeed a 

 change in i he former screaming, v oracious bird, which, if ;it liberty , 



Hew boldly to me and clung to my Clothing when I appeared with 

 meat. He now shrank into himself, ceased all friendlx overtures, 



and watched hi^ companion feed unmoved. .\<>t until November 



• Birds of Hi-' Northwest, p. 858. 



