HAWKS AND EAGLES. 371 



twigs, placed in a fork or crotch next to the trunk. Near Bos- 

 ton, the eggs, about four in number, are laid in the second week 

 of May. They measure 1.50 X 1.25 of an inch or less, and 

 are white (tinged with blue or green), sometimes unmarked, 

 but more often with a few large and prominent markings of 

 dark brown, chiefly near the crown. 



c. The Sharp-shinned Hawks are common summer resi- 

 dents throughout New England, but near Boston, so far as I 

 have observed, are extremely rare in winter, though I once 

 saw one boldly perched on the shafts of a wagon in a shed. 

 Though naturally shy, they are impudent, and, trusting to the 

 rapidity of their flight, often commit some daring robbery be- 

 fore the eyes of the farmer. They frequent the woods much 

 more than the Sparrow Hawk, and lie in wait there for a 

 passer-by. Should a Robin make his appearance, they give 

 chase, and though he fly never so quickly, they soon overtake 

 him. Sometimes, as they pass through the woods, they perceive 

 some bird feeding on the ground, whom they seize and bear off 

 almost before the traveler can understand what has happened. 

 So great is their eagerness and daring that their victims can 

 hardly find any refuge from their fury. Nuttall says in illus- 

 tration of their impetuous violence that " descending furiously 

 and blindly upon its quarry, a young Hawk of this species 

 broke through the glass of the greenhouse at the Cambridge 

 Botanic Garden, and fearlessly passing through a second glass 

 partition, he was only brought up by the third, and caught, 

 though little stunned by the effort. His wing-feathers were 

 much torn by the glass, and his flight in this way so impeded 

 as to allow of his being approached." The Sharp-shinned 

 Hawk characterizes all his movements with the same speed 

 and continual apparent haste, the same restlessness and 

 impetuosity. He often flies far, and even at a great 

 height, but much less often straight forward or with a 

 regular beat of the wings than the Pigeon Hawk. When 

 flying to a distance, his flappings are quick but somewhat 

 irregular, but, when hunting, he moves nervously, now high, 

 now low, now to the right, now to the left, rarely having 

 the patience to sail protractedly. On following his prey, he 



