THE RED-TAILED HAWK. 211 



northern points nidification sometimes begins equally early. Mr. J. W. Pres- 

 ton informs me that he took a set of eggs of this species on March 5, 1890, 

 near Baxter in central Iowa, which were, even at that early date, slightly 

 incubated. Heavy snow fell while the eggs were being deposited, and this 

 pair of birds were seen repairing the old nest some time in the latter part 

 of January. He found a pair of these birds nesting in a most unusual sit- 

 uation, their domicile being placed in a cottonwood tree, not over 12 feet 

 from the ground and close to a public road. In the western parts of its 

 range it nests frequently in large cottonwood and sycamore trees. 



In the New England and Northern States, the Red-tailed Hawk nests 

 usually in April, apparently as often during the first as the last half of this 

 month, and correspondingly later northward. 



Usually but a single brood is raised in a season, but in the hill country 

 of South Carolina, the Piedmont region, where this species is not uncom- 

 mon, Dr. Leverett M. Loomis, well known as an exceedingly accurate observer, 

 informs me that two broods are not infrequent. 



If the first set of eggs is lost, a second and sometimes a third is laid, 

 and on very rare occasions even a fourth. A pair of birds will sometimes 

 build two nests, and if one of these is robbed the second is made use of. 

 The eggs vary from two to four in number. Sets of two are most often 

 found throughout the greater part of its range, while three are not rare, and 

 in northern New York sets of four appear to be as common as smaller 

 ones. Incubation lasts about four weeks, the male assisting to some extent 

 in this duty, as well as providing his mate with food while on the nest. 

 The eggs are deposited at intervals of about two days. 



Generally the Red-tailed Hawk, shows but little courage or devotion in 

 defense of its eggs or young, contenting itself with uttering its protest by 

 shrill screams from a safe distance, but as in everything else, there are fre- 

 quent exceptions to this rule, and many pairs show much devotion in the 

 defense of their homes, darting down close to the intruder, and screaming 

 fiercely at him. 



The ground color of these eggs is usually a dull or pale creamy white. 

 Occasionally a faint bluish white tint is perceptible, which fades more or less 

 with age. 



In the series before me about one-fifth of the eggs are unspotted, and 

 a heavily marked one may be found in the same set with an unspotted egg. 

 About four-fifths of the eggs are more or less marked with irregularly shaped 

 spots and blotches of different shades of reddish and yellowish browns, which 

 vary considerably in size, shape, and intensity. A few specimens have longi- 

 tudinal markings, like No. 23150, Buteo swainsoni (PI. 8, Fig. 6), and some 

 show shell markings of lavender and dcru-drab. These markings are often 

 of rather uniform size, sometimes large and bold, in others small and pretty 

 evenly distributed over the entire surface of the egg, and again they are 

 confined principally to either end. The majority are moderately well marked 



