Iq8 Kennard, Habits of the Red-shouldered Hawk. I j u " y 



through a number of years. All the data and deductions there- 

 from are entirely my own, and necessarily limited. Therefore, 

 if they are at all at variance with the opinions of others on the 

 subject, such non-agreements may be excused perhaps, on account 

 of the small area over which my observations have been made, 

 or perhaps on account of the local individualities of the birds 

 observed. 



While I had watched several pairs of birds for a number of 

 years, and shinned almost every tree within a radius of ten 

 miles from Brook! ine that looked as though it might have a 

 Hawk's nest in it, I had been principally conversant with 

 squirrels' and crows' nests, owing to my lack of knowledge of 

 the Hawk's habits; and it was not till 18S4 that my real 

 experience began, and that I began to understand the habits of 

 the bird, as well as the proper trees to climb. 



Since 1884 I can safely say I have never, but on two or three 

 occasions, climbed to any nests that I supposed to be Hawks' 

 nests, and not found them either inhabited or just robbed. 

 These two or three occasions were when the old Hawks had 

 been using some old nest for a roosting or feeding place, and 

 had deceived me by the feathers they had left about the edge of 

 the nest. 



I would hereby recommend that any one in search of Hawks' 

 nests should invariably carry opera glasses. It may save many 

 feet of useless climbing. 



For the sake of convenience, I will take up each pair of birds 

 separately, and go through with their histories one at a time, 

 rather than take them up in the order of my observations, and 

 chronicle them by years. Again, for convenience, I have 

 called each pair by a rather arbitrary and local name, on account 

 of the particular territory in which they are most frequently seen, 

 and in which they almost invariably chose to build. 



There are but four pairs with whom I am on at all intimate 

 terms, and at whose abodes I am received as a regular visitor. 

 My data with regard to other Hawks of this species, whose 

 acquaintance I may have made casually, as it were, I have 

 purposely left out. 



The Weld Farm Hawks have been thus called because of 

 their marked fondness for that locality on the border line between 



