786 REPORT OF STATE GEOLOGIST. 



It is probable that these localities will be found to connect, thus 

 forming a narrow belt from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi Val- 

 ley, or beyond, where, under somewhat similar conditions, they may 

 be found breeding in greater numbers than elsewhere. Into these 

 favorite localities in Indiana and Michigan the migrants are found 

 returning from the middle of February to the 25th of March. They 

 begin mating at once. Generally an old nest is repaired and used. 

 The nests are smaller and are not placed so high on an average as the 

 Red-tail's, the range being, perhaps, from 20 to 65 feet. In northern 

 Indiana they must begin laying by the middle of March. Mr. Ridg- 

 way has taken its eggs at Mt. Carmel, 111., April 1, 1867 (Bendire, 

 L. H. N. A. B., I, p. 223). Mr. Blatchley saw one on its nest near 

 Terre Haute, April 1, 1891. In the northern part of the State it is 

 commonly breeding and has full sets before April 15. Mr. H. W. Mc- 

 Bride has had better opportunities to observe these Hawks than any 

 one I know in Indiana. He says that the birds in immature plumage 

 sometimes nest, and that he took a set of five eggs of such a bird in 

 Dekalb County, April 22, 1890. He also was led to believe that a Red- 

 tailed and a Red-shouldered Hawk mated that year. He examined 

 the nest twice that spring and both times was attacked by such a pair. 

 The wood was small; there were no other nests near, and he was unable 

 to find any other Hawks in that vicinity. The Red-shouldered Hawk 

 was killed before any eggs were deposited, and the other was seen no 

 more. The following interesting notes were also furnished by Mr. H. 

 W. McBride: 



"By far the most common Hawk in northeastern Indiana. There 

 is hardly a patch of woods containing an acre or more that is not the 

 home of a pair of them, but unless the woods be very extensive, only 

 one pair will be found nesting in it. 



"The notes concerning the Red-tail will nearly all apply to this 

 species also, as their habits are almost identically the same. 



"As to the date of nesting, the Red-shoulder is perhaps a few days 

 later than the Red-tail. 



"I have taken, together with my father, about 80 sets of eggs of 

 this hawk since 1884, and have examined several hundred nests. The 

 variety of the eggs is infinite, and the size runs from that of the 

 Cooper's Hawk to as large as the average Red-tail's egg. Some are 

 nearly round, like an Owl's egg, some pear-shaped, some a perfect 

 oval; and in markings they run from nearly a plain, dirty white to 

 being so heavily marked by large blotches of brown and chocolate as 

 to almost obscure the ground color. Below I give extracts from my 

 notebook covering some of the more peculiar sets I have found: 



