64 American Birds 



last visit The river had risen and covered the lowland. 

 The water had come up to the base of the tree, and we 

 reached it only by wading through the woods for half a 

 mile with the cameras strapped to our backs. The warn- 

 ing screams of the parents gave assurance that the home 

 was not yet deserted. Peering up through the foliage with 

 our field-glass we saw two young braves straining their 

 necks and watching us over the edge. When we reached 

 the large fork below the nest, one of the parents swooped 

 downward and swerved above the nest with a loud scream. 

 If it was a command it was instantly obeyed, for the young 

 hawks spread their wings and skimmed out over the trees 

 and on up the bank of the Columbia. 



We made a close study of the red-tail's home in the 

 tall cottonwood. He was always a successful hunter. In 

 all our visits we never saw the time when his larder was 

 empty. Nor did we find that he had to resort to the 

 chicken yard for food. There was plenty of wild game. 

 On the first visits we found the remains of quail and pheas- 

 ants in the aerie. One morning we saw the mangled body 

 of a screech owl; almost a case of hawk eat hawk. The 

 old red-tail had evidently found the victim returning home 

 too late in the morning, and there were no restrictions 

 as to race and color in the hawk household. Later in the 

 season, when the banks of the Columbia overflowed and 

 covered most of the surrounding country, the old hawk 

 did not abandon his own preserve. He turned his atten- 

 tion entirely to fishing. Where the carp and catfish fed 

 about the edges of the ponds he had no trouble in catching 

 plenty to eat. Twice we found carp, over a foot in length, 

 in the aerie. After that we saw no sign of food other than 



