General Notes. 57 



its extremity, and the cavity from which she emerged was found on exami- 

 nation to contain seven fresh eggs. This cavity had not been formed by 

 drilUno- or digging by the birds, but was simply a natural hollow caused 

 by decay. The cavity started at a point where the branch had been 

 broken, and was at its opening about three inches in diameter. It ex- 

 tended into the limb some two feet and a half, and the eggs were laid on 

 the blackened rotten chips at its extremity. The birds had evidently de- 

 signed to build in the tree, and having occupied much time at the work of 

 drilling the hole spoken of in the main trunk, the female was obliged, 

 by the necessity of laying her eggs, to find some immediate receptacle. 

 So the natural cavity, in an entirely different part of the tree, was utilized. 

 — "W. E. D. Scott, Princeton, N. J. 



Nesting of the Duck Hawk (Falco communis) in Vermont. — 

 On June 30, 1879, my friend, Mr. Frank Winslow, procured a tine female 

 example of this species, on what is called " Buzzard Hill " in the south 

 part of Brandon. The locality is rough and rocky, and a pair have bred 

 in this vicinity, so I am informed by Mr. Winslow, for a period of more 

 than twenty years. They were very destructive to the poultry in the vi- 

 cinity, and many unsuccessful attempts were made to shoot them, until 

 Mr. Winslow, remaining concealed near the nest for an entire day, shot 

 both male and female as they returned about dusk. At the same time he 

 destroyed the nest, which then contained one egg. — F. H. Knowlton, 

 Brandon, Vt. 



Prowess of the Bald Eagle (Haliaetus leucocephalus). — Most of 

 our recent authors have treated the Bald Eagle as a sluggish, tish-eating 

 bird, whose entire stock of surplus energy is devoted to robbing a more 

 industrious and less powerful neighbor. That it has not entirely lost its 

 old-time daring, so graphically described by Audubon, the following ac- 

 count will show. I am indebted for my facts to Mr. Nathan Cobb, one of 

 the oldest and most reliable of the professional Duck-shooters at Cobb's 

 Island, Va. The species is a permanent resident in the neighborhood of 

 the island, though it is not often seen during the summer months. A few, 

 however, are said to breed upon the opposite main-land. 



In the winter the Eagles are much more numerous than at any other 

 time of the year, and my informant has, on several occasions, seen as many 

 as eight at once. At this season the neighboring bays and creeks swarm 

 with Wild-fowl, and upon these the Eagles principally live. He has never 

 known them to capture fish of any kind, although they not unfrequently 

 rob the Fish- Hawk. Geese and Brant form their favorite food, and the 

 address displayed in their capture is very remarkable. The poor victim 

 has apparently not the slightest chance for escape. The Eagle's flight, 

 ordinarily slow and somewhat heavy, becomes, in the excitement of pur- 

 suit, excei'dingly swift and graceful, and the fugitive is quickly overtaken. 

 When close upon its quarry the Eagle suddenly sweeps beneath it, and, 



