ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 9-No. 1 



The Marsh Hawk and Its Eggs. 



PAET I. 



One June morning, while I stood in a 

 barn-yard by the side of a farmer with a 

 loaded gun in his hands, watching a pair 

 of Buteos lazily circling overhead, a Marsh 

 Hawk came skimming over the Avail, and 

 picking up a chicken, was away with its 

 quarry before the slow rustic battery coidd 

 be brought to bear. It is for such occa- 

 sional forays that this useful harrier is 

 shot by the average farmer; the quail- 

 shooter empities a shell of No. 10 shot at 

 him when he comes within range, while 

 the country boys, marking down the nests, 

 wring the necks of the young Hawks and 

 get fifteen cents ajjiece for them from the 

 town clerk, in accordance with the frequent 

 votes in town meeting of a bounty on all 

 " Crows, Hawks and Owls." Hence Marsh 

 Hawks are decreasing in numbers in New 

 London County, and I know of three 

 marshy meadows, near by, where they 

 used to breed yearly, over which no harri- 

 er's wing has brushed for many a day. 

 What the Buteos do for us in keeping 

 down that great nuisance, the red squir- 

 rel, the Marsh Hawk also accomplishes in 

 the line of ground rodents and vermin. 

 And there are some observant farmers who 

 have seen him on a still hunt, slowly sail- 

 ing along just over the tops of the huck- 

 leberry bushes, who appreciate his ser- 

 vices, as is shown by the local names given 

 him in Connecticut of "Mouser," "Mole 

 Hawk," and " Snake Hawk." 



In July, '74, when crossing a range of 

 bare upland pastures, I was startled by a 

 confused shadow of wild wings, and had 

 barely time to snatch my little tan terrier 

 which was following me, from the grasp of 

 a pair of large Marsh Hawks. For many 

 minutes the baffled Hawks followed us, 

 swooping down with angry screams near 

 enough to be struck with a cane. Carry- 

 ing the dog to a place of safety, I came 

 back to a brushy marsh in the centre of 



the pastures, and found four young Hawks 

 that never knew how near they came to 

 having a meal of imported terrier. The 

 dog weighed nearly four pounds, and that 

 he could have been carried or dragged in- 

 to the nest by the old birds, we know from 

 recorded instances of the power of levita- 

 tion given by Buteos and Fish Hawks. 

 The nest, which was a bulky affair, seven 

 inches high and fifteen inches in horizon- 

 tal diameter, was taken home and is still 

 in good condition. Nests of slight pre- 

 tensions are often met with, and I have 

 taken eggs from a mere depression in dry 

 sphagnum moss. In the last case, how- 

 ever, the over-harried bird sought conceal- 

 ment for her clutch by making no nest. 

 The large nests seen, if not built to avoid 

 submersion by water, are the results of 

 nesting in the same spot for a series of 

 years. The account given above, was my 

 first introduction to a pair of Marsh 

 Hawks, from which I took several sets of 

 plain eggs, in sets of four and five. 

 Later, from other Hawks of this species, I 

 took sets of three, four, and five unmarked 

 eggs. The eggs when first laid are green- 

 ish blue, fading before the clutch is com- 

 plete to the " dirty white," which is given by 

 closet oologists as the true color of the eggs. 

 I had often heard inquiry for marked sets 

 and for sets extreme in point of numbers, 

 but not till '81 and '82 did I meet with 

 these desiderata. — J. 31. W., JVonoich, Ct. 



Our Northern Raptores. 



March 20, found me in a logging camp 

 in northern Maine, at the headwaters of 

 the Magalloway, to spend a season collect- 

 ing in that vicinity. My special object 

 was to fill a vacancy of sets of Raptores 

 in my cabinet. 



After a few hours' search in the camp, 

 I secured the services of a Canadian 

 Indian, who informed me he knew of an 

 Eagle's nest, and would lead me to it sure ; 

 also knew of several "Hoot Birds" nests, 

 (the name he used for Owls.) 



