IOWA ORNITHOLOGIST. 



17 



away again. 



It was quite hard to flush the 

 one sitting, if the other one off 

 the nest was not around, but if it 

 did iiy off, it screamed and flew 

 around high in the air and it 

 would not be long till the other 

 one could be seen approaching. 

 Either they have quick ears or 

 keen sight as there would be no 

 bird in sight when it was flushed. 



After the young were hatched 

 they were both usually found 

 near the nest when not hunting 

 and if any one approached they 

 set up a great noise and contin- 

 ued it till the disturbers had 

 passed their nest a considerable 

 distance. They are at this time 

 quite bold and could be shot 

 without much difficulty. 



These hawks usually arrive 

 here about the middle or last of 

 March and begin nesting about 

 three or four weeks later — there 

 seems to be no lixed time. I 

 took my first set of eggs of this 

 hawk the 28th day of April, 1892. 

 It was a set of four and incu- 

 bation had begun. The nest 

 was in a hole in the face of the 

 bluff about eighty feet from the 

 water and twenty feet from the 

 top of the bluff. I went down to 

 the nest by means of a rope. 

 There was a very little sand and 

 gravel in the hole and the eggs 



were laid on it, there being no 

 resemblance to a nest. The 

 second set was of three eggs and 

 was taken on the 27th of May, 

 1892. It was the same pair of 

 hawks and in the same place as 

 set number i. When this set 

 was taken the bird did not leave 

 the nest till I was almost down 

 to it, although the other one was 

 screaming around and darting- 

 down close to me. 



In the year 1893 they made 

 their appearance quite early and 

 their eggs were hatched before I 

 had time to collect any. They 

 nested in the same place that 

 they did in 1892 and reared four 

 young, two of which were shot 

 before they left the nest — the 

 other two flew away some time 

 later and I saw no more of them 

 that year. During the year 1894 

 I took a set of four eggs on the 

 20th day of April, or rather it was 

 taken by my nephew, J. Russell 

 Moore, who was with me. In 

 this instance we could not flush 

 the bird by halloing, whistling or 

 throwing stones at the cliff and it 

 did not leave the nest till Mr. 

 Moore had dropped down directly 

 in front of the nest, then he 

 could have caught in his hand 

 but he had had some experience 

 in handling a live hawk bare 

 handed, so he did not attempt 



