FALCONID.K — THE FALCONS. 220 



five e<^gs, found by Dr. H. Ii. Storor in (Joncord, Mass., there wiis a sini,'lo 

 egg wliicli nearly corresponds witli tliis description. It is, however, the only 

 one among many specimens that at all agrees with it. This specimen is a 

 little more than usually elongate, and its ground-color, which is a purplish- 

 white, is nearly concealed liy its blotches of various shades of sepia-lirown. 

 In every other instance the egg is very nearly spherical, the ground-color 

 white, and beautifully mari<ed with large conliuent blotches of sepia, vary- 

 ing in depth from (juite a light to a very dark .shade. In one, these contin- 

 ent markings form a broad belt around the centre of the egg. In others, 

 they are chiefly distributed about the larger end. The contrast between the 

 white ground and the dark confluent dashes of lirown is very striking. 

 Except in size, the eggs of this 1)ird bear a marked resemldance to those of 

 the Sparrow Hawk of Europe. In a few instances, the brown markings 

 have an intermixture of red and purple. The egg measures 1.35 by Ll'i 

 inches. 



In nearly every instance the nest of this Hawk has been constructed in 

 trees. It is usually large in proportion to the size of the bird, and its mate- 

 rials are somewhat elaborately jjut together ; it is composed chiefly of large 

 sticks and twigs, and the whole idatform is covered with a tiiin lining of 

 dry leaves, mosses, grass, etc. Mr .lohn Krider, of riiiladelphia, found a 

 nest in New Jer.sey, in the vicinity of that city, which was built on tiie 

 edge of a high rock. 



Mr. Ifobert Kennicott met with the nest of this species at Fort IJesolu- 

 tion. It was composed entirely of small dry spruce twigs, with the excep- 

 tion of a half-dozen small flat bits of the scaly outer bark of the si»ruce, 

 laid in the bottom, and forming a sort of lining. No feathers or other softer 

 materials were used. Tiie nest was shallow and broad. The base was about 

 eighteen inches in diameter, and was about eight feet from the ground. It 

 was in a small sjnuce in a thick wood and on high ground. When dis- 

 turbed, the female flew oft" a short distance ; but on ^Ir. Kennicott's hiding 

 himself returned and Iknv near the nest, continually utte^-ing a harsh nx\ni\ 

 note. Nciir the nest were marks indicating the place where the male passed 

 the nights perched on a dry stick near th(> ground. 



Air. B. Ii. lioss observed these birds nesting thickly along the cliffs of the 

 Up])er Slave lUver. They were more rare northward of Fort Simpson than 

 F. coliimharius. 



IVIr. William Street, of Easthampton, informs me that he has found this 

 Hawk nesting on !Mount Tom, where he has known of six of their nests in 

 one season. In the spring of 1S72 he found three nests, on the 24th and 

 25th of May. They contained two eggs each. One of tliese, on the 27th 

 contained three eggs, of which he took one ; on the 3d of June two more 

 eggs had been laid. Two of these were taken, after which the birds deserted 

 the nest and resorted to an old stjuirrel's nest, where they had four more 

 eggs, depositing one every third day. They arrive at Mount Tom about the 



