The Red-Tailed Hawk 3I 



In this locality nest building begins in the latter part of March 

 and both birds take part in it. Fresh eggs may be found dur- 

 ing the first half of April, and as late as the middle of May. 

 Two or three, rarely four eggs are laid. They present much 

 difference in size and markings; their ground color is white 

 or bluish white, some are entirely unmarked, while others are 

 heavily splashed with many shades of red and brown. So 

 far as I have observed all birds of prey lay but few eggs and 

 this, I think, is a wise provision of Nature. Major Bendire 

 says, "Incubation lasts about four weeks, the male assisting 

 to some extent in the duty, as well as providing his mate with 

 food on the nest. The eggs are deposited at intervals of about 

 two days." But my friend, Judge R. W. McBride, a most 

 careful observer, says, "My observation would indicate that 

 the period of incubation covers about eighteen days. Out of 

 twenty-five sets of eggs that I have taken, stages of incubation 

 average as follows : Fresh April 5 ; slightly incubated, April 

 8; incubation advanced one-half, April 12; nearly ready to 

 hatch, April 17; young just hatched, April 21." 



Generally the red-tailed hawk does not take its food by 

 pursuit, but rather by waiting and watching for it from some 

 elevated position and then dashing through the air and catch- 

 ing it with its "sharp curved claws, the most deadly weapons 

 to be found in any bird's armament." At Buzzard's Roost, 

 one of them that caught some of our fowls was in the habit 

 of perching high up on the dead limb of a sycamore tree and 

 watching for them to come out into the open, and then dash- 

 ing upon them, and he never missed his prey. This was pro- 

 voking and almost tempted us to get a gun and shoot the 

 marauder. Dr. Fisher says in extenuation of the red-tail's 

 conduct that while they do occasionally eat poultry, the quan- 

 tity is so small in comparison to the vast numbers of de- 

 structive rodents consumed that it is hardly worth mentioning, 

 the proportion being sixty-six per cent, of injurious animals 

 to not more than seven per cent of poultry. He adds: "How 

 are we to account for this hatred against birds of prey by the 

 class of men who should be first to clamor for their protection? 

 Since they know that hawks and owls attack poultry, they do 

 not stop to think that the depredations may be made by a few 



