72 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. i5-No. 5 



A Series of Eggs of the Marsh Hawk. 



Mr. Rido-vvay, in his Manual of North Amer- 

 ican BirtU, page 226, says that tlie eggs of the 

 Marsh Hawk (Circus hmhonia.'<) are " white, 

 or bluish-white, usually plain, but often more 

 or less spotted or blotched with pale brown." 

 He also states tliat the numl)er of eggs laid is 

 from three to eight. Tlie series now before 

 mo does not agree witli his statements, as none 

 of the eggs are wliite, and none of the sets 

 contain as few as three, nor as many as eight. 

 Four eggs I consider is the smallest complete 

 set of this bird, while seven is an extreme 

 numl)er. Four to six eggs is probably a cor- 

 rect statement of the usual number laid. 



Set I. June !(>, 1885. Riverside, Cal. Col- 

 lected by E. M. Haight. Nest made of sticks 

 and dry tules, on the ground in a bunch of 

 tules which had been bent over. Four eggs, 

 incubation advanced. Bluish-white, unmarked: 

 l.G!)xl.34; 1.72x1.37; 1.72x1.84; 1.7r)xl.37. 

 Tliis sot contains tlie smallest sized eggs of 

 tliis species that I have ever seen. 



Set II. • June 8, 1888. Ogle County, III. Col- 

 lected by Perry Steele. Nest (tn the ground in 

 a marsh. Five eggs, fresh. IJluisli-wliite, 

 faintly spotted with dral)-gra,y. There are 

 also a few small spots of drab on two of the 

 eggs : 1.1)2x1.44; 1 . 88 x 1 . 8.j ; 1 . K7 x 1 . 48 ; 

 1.80 x 1.40; LSI x 1.38. 



Set III. May 10, 1884. Natick, Sunkway 

 Swamp. Collected by J. II. G. Nest of sticks 

 and grass, on the ground, with small bushes 

 and higli grass around it. Five eggs, fresh. 

 Bluish-white; three of the eggs are spotted 

 with dark gray, the other two are unmarked: 

 1.78x1.42; 1.77x1.48; 1.74 x l.:57; 1.79 x 1.41 ; 

 1.78x1.42. 



Set IV. May 8, 188(). Brushy Prairie, four 

 and a half miles southeast ot Baxter, Iowa. 

 Collected by J. W. Preston. Nest of coarse 

 grass stalks and weeds for a I'im, lined heavily 

 with soft gra,ss. Neatly made, on ground. 

 Six eggs, advanced. Bluish-white. Four of 

 the I'ggs are unspotted, but the other two are 

 faintly nrirkt-d with dra,b-gr;vy. On three of 

 the eggs tl)i'r(> are very curious ])rotub('i"in('es 

 which are rough to the touch. They ai'c lirmly 

 fastened to the shell, and appear to be some 

 malformation of it, as they will not rub oft'. I 

 have n(^ver seen anything like tlu^se on any 

 other eggs: 1.82x1..")]; 1.8,-) x 1.4:'.; 1.01x1.40; 

 1.93x1.40; l.OOxl.4.1; l.S.-) x 1.4(5. 



Set Y. May 21, 1S80. North Stoniugton, 

 New London Co., Conn. Collected by 

 "J. M. W." (C. L. IJawson). Nest in bog, of 



tangled and matted sheep laurel, on f<j>lia(jntu)i 

 foundation. Six eggs, fresh. Bluish-white, 

 two of them faintly spotted with drab-gray, 

 and the other four unmarked, except one 

 which has a single spot of burnt umber: 

 1.83x1.42; 1.80x1.42; 1.8.") x 1.48; 1.88x1.48; 

 1.82x1.43; 1.81x1.41. The finding of this set 

 was charmingly described in The Oknitiioi.- 

 OGiST ANO OoLOfJisT for March, 1800, by Mr. 

 Rawson. 



Set VI. May 18, 1884. Cranberry Bog, 

 Preston, New London Co., Conn. Collected 

 by "J. M. W." (C. L. Rawson). Nest slight. 

 Four eggs, fresh. Bluish-white, one entirely 

 unspotted, which was laid the day the set was 

 taken, and the other three spotted with drab- 

 gray: 1.8oxl.44; 1.00x1.40; 1.78x1.47; 

 1.07 xl.41. Mr. Rawson visited this nest three 

 times, taking the eggs at his third visit. He 

 also got two other sets from the same pair of 

 birds in 1884, and three sets in 1885. 



Set VII. June 0, 1885. Cranberry Bog, 

 New London Co., Conn. Collected by 

 "J. M. W." ((-. L. Rawson). Nest embryotic. 

 Five eggs, fresh. Bluish-white, two eggs un- 

 marked, the other three distinctly spotted with 

 cinnamon: 1.85x1.38; 1.82 xL30; 1.8lxl.;l7; 

 1.85x1.35; 1.87x1.88. Mr. Rawson took two 

 other sets from tliis pair of birds in 1885. 



Set VIII. May 20, 1882. North Stonington, 

 New London Co., Conn. Collected by 

 "J. M. \V." (C. L. Rawson). Nest in big 

 open bog, with few scattering maples. On 

 May 14th the nest contained four eggs which 

 were left to see if more would be laid. On 

 May 20th it was again visited, and Mr. Rawson 

 found it contained fteiien eggs when they were 

 taken. All were fresh, and they are a truly 

 remirkalile sot. All are bluish-white. One of 

 them is unmarked, three others are faintly 

 marked with drab-gray, but the other three 

 are marked more heavily than any other eggs 

 of this species that I have ever seen. Two of 

 these have largi^ blotches of fawn color, while 

 the third has large spots of burnt umber 

 around the smaller end, and no one would 

 recognize it as an egg of Circus huilsnnins. As 

 Mr. Riwsou well rem irks (O. it O. for Febru- 

 ary, 1S84, Vol. IX, i)age 1()): "These were not 

 the mere 'accidental deposits of lymph,' re- 

 ferred to by the late Dr. lirewer, as liable to 

 appear on all plain (!ggs, but they in-esented a 

 good sui>erficial design, and the cloudy sub- 

 shell coloring seen on average sets of Red- 

 shouldered Hawks." They measure: 1.7Sx 

 1.45; l.S4xl.4S; 1.85x1.45: 1.84x1.45; 

 1.81x1.45; 1.70x1.45; 1.70xl.4S. J. P. N. 



