THE 05L0GIST. 



13 



the others, all showing incubation had 

 just commenced. Neither of these 

 nests have since been occupied. 



April 35th, 1897, we found a nest 

 which had every appearance of being 

 occupied by a Red-shouldered Hawk, 

 very large sticks, inner bark showing 

 prominently, and a pine branch here 

 and there, about the top sides. It was 

 situated in the fork of a large branch, 

 which sloped away from the trunk of 

 the tree, and was forty-two feet from 

 the ground. The bird left the nest 

 when we were about fifty feet from the 

 tree, and almost the same instant, a full 

 grown gray sqairrel sprang from the 

 under part of the nest, ran over it. and 

 flattened itself against the tree, a few 

 inches above the nest, and there re- 

 mained until we began the climb. So 

 astonished were we at seeing a squirrel 

 jump from the very nest of a Hawk, 

 that we paid little attention to the bird, 

 and were very much surprised upon 

 reaching the nest, to find that it's occu- 

 pant was an Acetperal cooper i, instead 

 of a Buteo lineatus. This nest contain- 

 ed both the inner and outer bark of the 

 chestnut. It was plac d in such an un- 

 fortunate position, that it was with 

 great difficulty we succeeded in collect- 

 ing the three fresh eggs which it con- 

 tained. The position of the nest was 

 so trying, that when the eggs were 

 taken, we could not wait to examine 

 the nest sufiiciently to assert positively 

 that it was a combined nest of the sqir- 

 rel and the Cooper',s. I do not dare to 

 state the manner in wnich we got the 

 eggs down from this nest, for vphen we 

 told the story at home that evening, we 

 were immediately branded as worthy 

 disciples of Ananias, and since then, 

 whenever an impropable story is heard, 

 some one is sure to suggest that we can 

 tell a pretty good yarn about how we 

 procured a certain set of Cooper's 

 Hawk. But though the set is, we fear, 

 incomplete it is on recount of it's asso- 

 ciation, prized most highly. It was not 



occupied in the spring of '99, but last 

 fall my brother shot a gray sqirrel from 

 the tree which evidently made the nest 

 his home. We have no doubt but that 

 this nest was built and first occupied by 

 a Red-shouldered Hawk, then occupied 

 by a Cooper's Hawk, and during the 

 winter and perhaps a part of the 

 spring, was occupied by squirrels. 

 The fact that it contained much inner 

 bark when it was occupied by the 

 Cooper's suggests the idea that the 

 Cooper's Hawks may have driven the 

 Buteo away from the nest, after she 

 had prepared it for occupancy in the 

 spring of '97, for during the whole of 

 that spring the Buteos were in the 

 grove, but did not nest there. We 

 have no knowledge as to which of these 

 species is considered the stronger. 



In 1898 we took a set of Red-should- 

 ered Hawk's from a pine tree. Typical 

 nest, forty-six feet, six laches from the 

 ground. In April, 1899, we took from 

 this nest a set of three eggs of the 

 Barred Osvl. The Owls used the nest 

 just as they found it, without the ad- 

 dition of a stick or a bit of bark. 



The last nest which my note books 

 show was used by different species, 

 was a nest built and occupied by a 

 Cooper's in '98. fhis nest was fifty 

 feet from the ground, in the crotch of 

 a chestnut tree. A pair of Red-should- 

 ered Hawks appropriated this nest in 



1899. 



John H. Flanigan, 



Providence, R. I. 



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