Aug. 



1887.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



119 



as I have found full sets April 25. Four or 

 live is the usual number for a complete set, 

 and only as exceptional instances, is so laroje 

 a number as six found, although the latter 

 number has been recorded as a set. 



The nest is, in the majoilty of cases, built in 

 a pine, and when viewed externally, resembles 

 that of the Crow. The lining, if it can be 

 called such, is siuiply small pieces of bark, 

 lacking both the warmth and the interior ar- 

 rangement of CorvHS. 



The eggs are, when fresh, of a white color, 

 faintlj' tinged with blue, which in cabinet 

 specimens cannot be observed. A few small 

 brown specks are sometimes seen on some 

 specimens; the eggs on the whole greatly re- 

 sembling those of C. hudsoiiins. 



Sharp-shinned Hawk, {Accipiti'rfuscnfi). This 

 little accipiter is not common in our county and 

 instances of their breeding are few. Such as 

 we have received, however, are authentic. 



Their nests were found in pines with one 

 exception, and that was in a maple tree, in a 

 thick swamp, and it further proved to be an 

 excqition, by the date at which it was found to 

 contain its complement of eggs, well ad- 

 vanced in incubation, May 27th, an unusually 

 early date for these birds, who do not usually 

 lay their eggs before the first week in June. 

 The number of eggs to a set is four, no other 

 number being found. They differ from those 

 of its congener, {A. cooperi)^ in having the 

 ground color often obscured by splashes of 

 ditt'erent shades of brown. 



This species has been observed in winter and 

 we have two instances of its being taken at 

 such times. Jan. 21, Rehoboth, (Baker j, Dec. 

 28, '79, Seekonk, (Miller). As it has been con- 

 sidered rare to find them in winter, I deemed 

 it proper to cite the above instances. 



Goshawk, {Astur atricapillus) . This hand- 

 some hawk favors us with its presence only as 

 a fall or winter visitor, of considerable rarity. 

 Several instances have been recorded and I 

 quote Swansea, Nov. 1881, (Carpenter) ; Taun- 

 ton, Dec. 1885, (Gaboon). 



Red-tailed Hawk, (Biiteo horealis). This 

 species is not common in this county. It has 

 been observed at all seasons and a few instan- 

 ces of its breeding have been recorded. 



A nest found by myself in the northern sec- 

 tion of the county, April 15th, '82 was placed 

 in the forks of a large chestnut in swampy 

 woods. The nest was quite large, about two 

 feet across and from appearances I judged it to 

 have been occupied for several seasons. The 

 number of eggs was two, which is the usual 



complement for this Bnteo, though thi-ee have 

 been found in several instances. 



I consider tliis species as somewhat local 

 and much rarer in eastei-n Massachusetts than 

 in the western portion of the state, for in April 

 '83, I accompanied Mr. Carpenter on a trip to 

 Berksliire county and we found B. horealis 

 breeding much more plenty than its congener, 

 B. li neat us. 



Red-shouldered Hawk. {Buteo lineatus) . This 

 "Henhawk" is a common resident of, and breeds 

 throughout the entire country, but probably 

 more abundanty in the heavil}' wooded tracts 

 of the western section. 



Nesting is variable in time, having found 

 fresh sets as early as April IGth and as late as 

 May 11th, and in both cases I have positive 

 knowledge of their being the first laying of 

 the season. 



The number of t'ggs to a set has been found 

 complete, in number, with two, three or four, 

 the two former numbers being more frequently 

 found than the latter. 



The eggs vary in color and markings, to a 

 large extent, some having a nearly white ground 

 color, with distinct blotches of various shades 

 of brown, while others have the ground color 

 tinged with drab, and lack the bright con- 

 trasts of the others. In the large series 

 before me I fail to find any which follow a 

 similar coloration or resemble each other, even 

 eggs from the same sets, contrast more strong- 

 ly than those from ditterent clutches. This 

 variation is as perceivable in the eggs of the 

 Red-tail, as those of the present species. They 

 usually resort to large woods, and place the 

 nest in a crotch of some tall tree, of good 

 sized diameter of trunk, and often occupy the 

 nest for successive seasons ; even when persist- 

 ently harried by the collector they will return 

 and build in the immediate vicinity, as has 

 been the case with a pair from which I have 

 secured clutches every spring since '78; they 

 resorting to the same grove for nidification, 

 building a new" nest each season. 



Broad-winged Hawk, {Buteo pennsylvanicus.) 



Only one instance of its capture in this coun- 

 ty : Acushuet, April 12, '82, (Brown). It has 

 been recorded as breeding in this section of 

 New England. 



Rough-legged Hawk, (Archibuteo lagopus 

 sancti-johanuis.) Another rare occurrence of 

 this species is noted, viz., Attleboro' March, 

 '81, (Reid), and is the only record of its cap- 

 tui"e within our limits. 



Bald Eagle, (Hallkeatus leucocephalus. This 

 the largest of our raptores^ occurs so rarely, as 



