38o Cameron, Swainson's Hawk in Montana. l.iuiy 



claws black, and the Mil slate color. The brides in the newly 

 fledged young arc blue gray which soon changes to pale hazel. 

 Fledglings vary in the shade o( yellowish-brown, amount of white. 

 and number of spots on the under pans. The spots apparently 

 darken with ace until the moult, as my tame hawk became gradu- 

 ally more and more chestnut. 



Second M vi.k Plumage. 



The moult was begun on April 9, when the bird was kept in a 

 large specially made cage so that 1 could collect his feathers and 

 observe the order of losing them. He began by shedding his 

 quills — the inner primaries (seventh in each wing) being the first 



to fall out. By April 29, 1 had picked up five primaries and four 

 secondaries when the hawk ceased temporarily to lose any more 

 feathers. On May S he commenced to moult the feathers of the 

 wing coverts, hut as he pulled all the smallest in pieces it was 

 impossible to keep an accurate count of these. On May 26, 

 the new centre tail feathers were observed to he growing down 

 above the ten old rectrices possessed by the hawk, which, how- 

 ever, had eleven when clean moulted. (Two other examples 

 of the same age had eleven rectrices each'. Chi June 8, the two old 

 centre tail-feathers fell out. ami on the 9th and 10th three more 

 rectrices were lost. At this date the bird displayed a mixed bi- 

 colored tail oi old and new feathers when, as pointed out by Coues l 

 the new tail-feathers and quills were strongly slate-colored in strik- 

 ing contrast to the dark brown old ones. During the three days 

 above mentioned the hawk also lost a primary and several feathers 

 of the wine coverts, which, as usual, he tore in fragments. On 

 July 3 he shed another primary when he was again given his 

 liberty. The moult extended over a period of six months, and the 

 outer or first primaries were the last feathers to be shed, as is the 

 case I believe with all raptores. 



litis tame hawk moulted into a plumage in many respects 

 similar to that worn during the first year. With the exception 

 oi a white occiput, and nearly white "Hags." the whole of the 



' Key to North American Birds. ISS7. p. 546. 



