BIRDS OF THE PAPAGO SAGUARO NATIONAL MONUMENT. 37 



than to make the startled hawk let fall a burden he was carrying. 

 This proved to be an adult male desert quail, still alive, probably 

 having been taken from a flock we heard calling in the bushes nearby. 



A zone-tail, shot near the summit of the Sierra Ancha on June 26, 

 had in his stomach the remains of a Gila chipmunk. 1 Although, as he 

 circles about on lazy wings, or drifts slowly across a canyon, the zone- 

 tail appears too sluggish for any rapid action, the capture of the 

 chipmunk by this individual speaks volumes for the speed that can 

 be attained when necessary. If there is any small mammal that is 

 harder to see in the brush or that can get out of sight with greater 

 speed than the Gila chipmunk it should be safe from any danger. 

 Merely to catch sight of one of these animals, though they be heard 

 chipping in the bushes all around, is no small feat ; while for a hawk 

 to lay talons on one, in his chosen haunt of underbrush, logs, and 

 rocks, bespeaks a swoop of lightning speed. 



Once as a zone-tailed hawk passed overhead several band-tailed 

 pigeons darted out of some oak trees below, so startled that they 

 nearly struck me, two of them separating and passing on either side. 

 At the time I thought their nervousness uncalled for, but in the 

 light of the subsequent discoveries I made as regards the food of the 

 zone-tail they were probably justified in their frantic departure. 



In flight this hawk bears a striking resemblance to the turkey 

 vulture. The general dark coloration, of course, is very much the 

 same in the two species, while in addition the outline of the extended 

 wings, color pattern of the under surface of the wing, and manner 

 of flight are all so very similar that the hawk could easily escape 

 recognition. Of course, the white band across the center of the tail 

 is unmistakable, but this marking is not always conspicuous and 

 may entirely escape observation. 



The zone-tailed hawk, though quite generally distributed in south- 

 ern Arizona during the summer months, is not abundant anywhere. 

 It has been found breeding at several points in the State and its 

 nesting habits in this region are described in detail by Dr. Mearns. 2 



In the history of a nest of this hawk situated in the Rincon Moun- 

 tains, and possibly still in existence for hawks' nests sometimes last 

 for many years there is an incident of considerable historical in- 

 terest, as illustrative of the dangers accompanying bird study in 

 Arizona in the early days. The first resident ornithologist of 

 Arizona, Herbert Brown, has described the occurrence as follows : 



In a small canyon in the western foothills of the Rincon Mountains, about 21 

 or 22 miles east of Tucson, stands a medium-sized cottonwood tree in which 

 hawks have nested for many years. The old stick pile on which so many gen- 

 erations of birds have been raised has become quite bulky through its annual 

 accretion. In the spring of 1886 I was told by parties coming in from the San 



1 Eutamias dorsalis. 2 Auk, III, 1886, pp. 60-69. 



