130 



about the Ic^t of' May, and tlirouiiliout the whole treason is en- 

 "•ajred in destrovins; small birdc?, which form a lar<>c part of its 

 food, although it occasionally captures a field mouse of some 

 sort. Audubon describes the peculiar flight of this bird as fol- 

 lows : — " While searching for prev, the Sharp-shinned Hawk 

 passes over the country, now at a moderate height, now close 

 over the head, in so swift a manner that, although your eye 

 has marked it. you feel surprised that the very next moment it 

 has dashed off, and is far away. The kind of vacillation or 

 wa\ering with which it moves through the air appears j)erfectly 

 adapted to its wants. It advances Avith sudden dashes, as if 

 im[)etuosity o!' movement were essential to its nature, and 

 pounces upon and strikes such objects as best suit its appetite, 

 l)ut so suddenly, that it seems quite hopeless foi any of them 

 to try to escape.'* The nest is usually placed in a pine, about 

 twenty feet from the ground, and is constructed of sticks, and 

 lined with small twigs and leaves. Eggs usually four, of a 

 bluish-white color spotted at larger end with brown. Tliey are 

 usually laid by tlie last week in May. 



Bite* > uoijealis — Bunainiiic. 



IvKD-TAiLEi) ILvAyiv. — ]Mr. Sanuiels. in "Birds of New 

 England," savs. "EACry one has noticed this hawk way up in 

 the air at a considerable height soaring in extended circles, 

 and uttering the oft-repeated cry. 'kac. kae, kae,' as he exam- 

 ines the earth beneath him for prey." I found a nest of this 

 hawk in Boxford, Mass., on the 7th of ]May. It was situated 

 in the to])most fork of a tall pine tree, being about twcnty-fiv<' 

 feet from the ground. It was a very large affair, constructed 

 of coarse twigs and sticks, many of them as large as my finger. 

 It was slightly lined with a few pine-needles and leaves of 

 other trees. In the nest was only one egg, though the mun- 

 ber generally laid is three. The egg was just hatching, the 

 young hawk having broken the shell so as to protrude his beak. 

 It nnist therefore have been laid by the 20th of April. Thij; 

 hawk is verv destructive to small birds and to ))onltry. 



