The Burgess Bird Book for Children 



the Green Forest where he knew the old nest of 

 Redtail the Hawk had been. As he drew near 

 the place he kept sharp watch through the tree- 

 tops for a glimpse of Redtail. Presently he saw 

 him high in the blue sky, sailing lazily in big 

 circles. Then Peter became very, very cautious. 

 He tiptoed forward, keeping under cover as much 

 as possible. At last, peeping out from beneath 

 a little hemlock-tree, he could see Redtail's old 

 nest. He saw right away that it was bigger than 

 it had been when he saw it last. Suddenly there 

 was a chorus of hungry cries and Peter saw Mrs. 

 Redtail approaching with a Mouse in her claws. 

 From where he sat he could see four funny heads 

 stretched above the edge of the nest. 



" Redtail is using his old nest again and has got 

 a family already," exclaimed Peter. "I guess 

 this is no place for me. The sooner I get away 

 from here the better." 



Just then Redtail himself dropped down out of 

 the blue, blue sky and alighted on a tree close at 

 hand. Peter decided that the best thing he could 

 do was to sit perfectly still where he was. He 

 had a splendid view of Redtail, and he couldn't 

 help but admire this big member of the Hawk 

 family. The upper parts of his coat were a dark 

 grayish-brown mixed with touches of chestnut 

 color. The upper part of his breast was streaked 

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