VOL. XV.] HABITS OF SPARHOVV-HAWK. 77 



that all the sides were good enough. We therefore deter- 

 mined to give up all the time we could to this nest. At first 

 the bird was very shy and remained so until some four days 

 after the hut was covered, and then she was wonderfully easy 

 to deal with. She, too, is a young bird, but in excellen 

 condition. Eggs very white with very good black blotchei 



Laid. Chipped. Hatched. 



1 May 13 ? Jnne 22 June 25 



2 ,.15 Found broken outside nest Jime 5. 



3 ,,17 June 24 June 25 



4 ,. 19 ,, 22 ,, 2O 



No. 3 was not chipped when I entered the hut 4 p.m. 

 June 24th, and was most decidedly chipped when I emerged 

 an hour later. None of the eggs looked at all like hatching 

 that night. This bird did not begin to sit until she had laid 

 her last egg. When I visited the nest on i\Iay i8th the eggs 

 were stone cold and never afterwards. The incubation period 

 is amazingly long. According to the above observations it 

 is 37 days for two eggs and 38 for the other. The chipping 

 period too is very variable, one egg being chipped for less than 

 twenty-four hours and one for approximately four days. 



I expected the eggs to begin chipping on June 19th, and wc 

 got very nervous that we had kept the bird off too long and 

 ruined the eggs. We were very glad to be able to feel and 

 hear the chicks inside the shells each day, but got very anxious 

 as the days went by and no sign of chipping appeared. 

 Even then we were afraid that with the great heat and drought 

 they would be unable to get free. The old bird seemed very 

 anxious too, and I saw her nibbling at the eggs more than 

 once on June 24th. On June 25th the unhatched egg had 

 got quite a hole broken away in the shell. The chicks, how- 

 ever, were all fine and strong when they came out, and fed 

 well enough when I saw them receive a meal on June 26th. 



