NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 169 



The eggs are greenish-white, either immaculate or faintly spotted 

 with pale brown or lilac, rather oval in shape ; three to six in number, 

 often four or five, and measure from 1.80 to 1.90 in length by 1.38 to 

 1.45 in breadth. Mr. Norris has sets of Marsh Hawk eggs that are 

 as heavily marked as many eggs of Buteo lineatus. They were taken 

 by the famous collector, " J. M. W." (C. L. Rawson), and fully identified. 



332. Accipiter velox (WILS). [432.] 



Sharp-shinned Hawk. 



Hab. Whole of North America, south to Panama. 



This spirited little Hawk is distributed at large throughout North 

 America and it is considered an abundant species, although in some 

 localities it is quite rare. Known as Pigeon Hawk, but it should not 

 be confounded with Falco columbarius. 



The Sharp-shinned Hawk is swift, irregular and nervous in its 

 flight ; is one of the most daring of the family, often successfully at- 

 tacking birds of its own weight ; failing sometimes to do so either from 

 over-confidence in its own abilities, or under-estimation of the powers 

 of its victim. The smaller birds and quadrupeds, young chickens, 

 pigeons, small reptiles and various insects constitute this bird's food. 

 The nests of this species are built in trees in dense woods, preferably 

 pine groves ; frequently a scrubby oak or a birch offers a favorite site, 

 and the height from the ground may range from ten to sixty feet ; the 

 nests generally rest against the trunk of the tree at the base of a limb. 

 The composition of the nests are small sticks forming a platform with 

 a slight hollow, usually without lining. Occasionally nests are placed 

 in cavities similar to those of the Sparrow Hawk, or upon a ledge of 

 rock overhanging a lake or river. 



Mr. O. C. Poling informs me that in Western Illinois this Hawk 

 selects for the site of its nest the top branches of an almost limbless 

 tree, usually an oak, which is situated in dense woods ; it is generally 

 composed of oak twigs and leaves. Mr. Poling states that nesting be- 

 gins by the middle of April ; all the nests he has observed contained 

 five eggs, although others were found in that region containing three 

 and four. 



Mr. Charles P. Morrison, of Fort Lewis, Colorado, took a set of three 

 e gg s June 22 from a dilapidated Magpie's nest, the arched roof of which 

 had fallen in, and formed a hollow, which was lined with a few feathers 

 upon some dead leaves. The Marsh Hawk and the present species 

 deposit their eggs when other Hawks are nearly through breeding. 

 The Sharp-shinned Hawk's eggs may be found in the first week of 



