THE OOLOGIST. 



175 



judu'cd coniprc'liension a "hawk," no 

 lualtiM' lo Aviial genus it l)(.'l()ng,s, is the 

 typical I'cprcst'ntatiou of rapacious 

 plundcv. 



For reckless ])luck and dash the rath- 

 er small, ti-inily l)uilt genus Accipiter is 

 rivaled by few and surpassed l)y none 

 of th(( feathered race, with the excep- 

 tion perhaps of the family Tyrannidac. 

 Of the three birds comprising the genus 

 Accipitei\ A., coopcri is the only one 

 which remains in this locality, north- 

 eastern Kansas, throughout the year, 

 A., velox and ^1., atricapiUus being 

 merely irregular v/inter visitants. The 

 wings of the C-ooper's Hawk are quite 

 small for the size of the bird, though 

 what they lack in size is made up by 

 their muscular vigor. Thus the bird is 

 rendered ineapal)le of great soaring feats 

 or long extended Hights, but its rapid 

 movements and quick, arr(nv-like dash- 

 es are so well known that it has acquir- 

 ed the popular name of "dart haAvk." 



In taking a stroll through some lone- 

 ly piece of woods on a winter's morn- 

 ing-, one may often see the Dart Hawk 

 I'apidly skimming along, just above the 

 ground, or seated on some secluded 

 tree, partially stupefied Ijy an over 

 feed of fresh quail, upon which it feeds 

 almost exclusively, during cold wtnither. 

 As spring graduallj' opens the leaf Inuls 

 and brings its SAvarms of feathered 

 songsters from the South, ^4. Coopcri 

 antl his consort, begin to search f(jr a 

 suitable nesting site. The spot nsuallj^ 

 chosen is an old crow's nest, located in 

 some secluded nook of the woods, 

 farthest from the hal)itation of man. 

 The nest is merely a few coarse sticks 

 and strips of l)ark laid on top of some 

 old deserted nest of some other bird, 

 or if it V)uilds a nest for itself it closely 

 resembles a iiat-topped Crow's nest. 

 This bird does not build in such lofty 

 positi(ms as do manj' of our hawks. I 

 ha^e never fcnuid a nest over thirty feet 

 from the gr()und, and in one instance I 

 took a set of two eggs from a nest l)ut 



lifteen feet up. It usually begins to 

 lay about the first of May and la3^s one 

 egg daily until the set is complete. 

 Good authorities give the number of 

 eggs layed as four or five. I have been 

 unfortunate in getting small sets, for I 

 lU'ver took mort^ than two eggs from a. 

 nest, and sometimes but one. 



The eggs, oval in form, vary consid- 

 erabljf in size, averaging aJ)outl.85x 

 1.47. Smallest, 1.74x1.43; largest, 1.8.0 

 xl.48. Are usually unspo'tted, light - 

 blue in color. I once took a set that 

 was sparcel^^ marked over the entire 

 surface with sharp specks of reddish- 

 In'own. Incubation begins Avhen the 

 set is complete, and lasts about three 

 weeks. From the time the young ap- 

 pear until they leave the nest, June 1st 

 to July 1st, is the period in which the 

 farmer meets with his greatest losses ])y 

 this bird. During this time the young- 

 are fed almost exclusively on young- 

 poultry and young birds picked up in 

 the woods. After leaving the nest the 

 young are fed f(n' a few weeks by the 

 parents who gradually become less 

 bold, and Avhen at last they leave them 

 to their fate, usually the shot-gun, the 

 old birds seem to entirely disappear un- 

 til fall, when they become as plentiful 

 as cAer, but are much shyer than in the 

 spring. They show the greatest brave- 

 ry in the defense of their nestand young. 

 On several occasions while rifiing their 

 nests, I have been struck severe I)1oavs 

 on the head and ))ack. Both birds take 

 part in these attacks, continuouslj^ ut- 

 tering their rapidly repeated cry of 

 "kute, kute, kute," wluch closely re- 

 seml)les the live of the Red-bellied 

 Woodpecker {Mclancrpcs carol inns.) 



Although outlawed by the human 

 I'ace, the reckless braA'ery of A. Cooji- 

 eri ought at least to entitle him to re- 

 spect in spite of his numerous short- 

 cmnings. D. B. II., 



Beattie, Kan. 



