FALCOXID.K-TIIE FALCONS. 175 



Tin; yowu'^ Mnl.s, wlmn tliey first appear, aro covorcfl ■with a white down. 

 Tlioy grow willi groat rapidity, and ai'o soon abk; to luavo thuir nest, and are 

 M-ell ]irovi(led I'or by their parents until they are aliU; t(j talve care oi' tlieni- 

 selves. TJiey ieed at tirst on grasslioppcrs and cricl<ets. 



At DenysviHe, Me., these Hawks were observed to attaek the ClilT Swal- 

 h)\vs, whil(! sitting on their eggs, deliberately tearing o])en their eovered 

 nests, and seizing tlieir oeeui)ants tor their jirey. 



In winter, tliese birds, tor tlie most part, desert the Northern and ]\Iiddle 

 States, liut are resident south of Virginia. Tliey can be readily tamed, es- 

 jieeiallv wlien reared from tlie nest. ]Mr Audulton raised a young Hawk of 

 tliis species, wliieii continued to keep about '''O hou.se, and even to lly to it 

 for shelter wlien attacked by some of its wilder kindred, and never failed to 

 return at night t(» roost on its favorite window-shutter. It was finally killed 

 by an enraged hen, who.se chickens it attempted to .seize. 



This Hawk constructs no nest, but makes use of liollow trees, the deserted 

 liole of a Wood])ecker, or even an old Crow's nest. Its eggs are usually as 

 many as tive in immlier, and Mr. Audul)on once even met with .seven in a 

 single nest. The ground of the eggs is usually a dark cream-color or a light 

 bull'. In tlieir markings they vary eonsideral)ly. Five from a nest in 

 jMuryland Mere covered tlirougliout tlie entire surface with small blotches 

 and dottings of a liglit brown, at times eonlluent, and, e.\ce[)t in a single 

 instance, not more frequent at the larger end than the smaller. Tiie contents 

 of a nest olitaineil by .Mr. Audubon on the Yellowstone River had a ground- 

 color of a light bull', nearly unspotted, except at the larger end, with only a 

 few large bloteli(!S and splashes of a deep chocolate. In others, interspersed 

 with the light-brown markings arc a few of a much deeper shade. In some, 

 the eggs are covered with fine markings of buff, nearly uniform in size and 

 color; anil others again are marked with lines and bolder dashes of brown, 

 of a distinctly reddish shade, over their entire surface, and often so thickly 

 as nearly to conceal the ground. The eggs are nearly spherical. The aver- 

 age length is I.08 inclies liy a breadth of l.l:?. They arc suliject to varia- 

 tion in size, but are iuiif(jrm as to shape. Tliey range in length from 1.48 

 to T.:>2 inches, and in breadth from 1.08 to 1.20 inches. 



The eggs of Tiiinnnculn^ sparvcroidcs, from Cuba, and of var. cinnnmomi- 

 niis from Chile, dilfer in size and markings from those of North American 

 birds. Their ground-color is mucli whiter, is freer from markings wliicli 

 ha\e liardly any tinge of rufous, but are more of a yellowish-l)rown. The 

 Cuban egg measures 1.28 by 1.08 inches ; the Chilian, 1.25 by 1.08. 



