284 WILD WINGS 



consideration of a dollar, and climbed to two of the nests, 

 from each of which he safely brought down three large white, 

 spotted eggs. One tree gave him such a dangerous climb 

 that he did not dare to descend by climbing-irons alone, and 

 he sat up in a crotch until I could secure a rope at a distant 

 farmhouse. The female in each case left the nest as we 

 approached, and the pair circled about overhead with the 

 same harsh squeals to which I was accustomed. 



I found the Sparrow Hawks very common in most of the 

 timber-belts that I visited, as well as in the extensive forests 

 of the Turtle Mountain country. One or both of the pair will 

 be seen perched on some bare limb, and not far away is the 

 hollow they have chosen for their nest, usually a rotted-out 

 knot-hole. Early in June, if not before, the female deposits 

 her four or five brownish, finely speckled eggs, and then the 

 pair become more solicitous over intrusion. The female 

 darts from the hole, when both birds fly about and scold 

 angrily. The eggs, though always of the unmistakable 

 brown type of the Falcons, vary a good deal. In one very 

 curious set that I secured by the Sheyenne River, two of the 

 eggs are almost round and a little irregular, looking a good 

 deal like small potatoes. 



The Swainson's Hawk is a typical bird of the prairies, 

 a large, heavy creature, slow but graceful in flight. It is one 

 of the commonest sights to see it soaring over the prairie, 

 especially if there be timber near, or standing on a knoll or 

 a fence-post. It is the tamest hawk of my acquaintance, and 

 it will often allow one to drive, or even walk, very close to it. 

 Many an isolated tree, even though but a few feet high, bears 

 a bulky nest that looms up miles away as one traverses the 

 plain. I have also found the nest in clumps of bushes. In 

 the many that I have examined, the number of eggs has been 

 from two to four, usually three. The female sits on them 



