—— 
Burns—On BrROAD-WINGED HAwk. 197 
GRENADA,— Not abund. resident, at this time—Mar. 25—it is en- 
gaged in incubation—Ober (Lawrence) ; numerous, breeds (Wells) ; 
living specimen presented by Hon. Sir W. Francis Helz-Hutchinson, 
July 20, 791, to the Zoological Society of London (Sharp). 
Topaco.—Collected by W. W. Brown, Jr., during Apr. and May, 
792 (Cory) ; immature female in U. S. National Museum (Riley). 
Flight. 
This bird is an easy, graceful, and at times, quite rapid flyer. 
Buteo-like, it is fond! of soaring in circles. It can move with 
the ease and silence of an owl. Indeed, Sennett informs us 
that when he shot one in a dense woods on the lower Rio 
Grande, he was quite surprised that it was not an owl when 
he picked it up. When disturbed in the timber, its flight 
seems heavy ‘and sluggish. Audubon, Gentry, Preston, 
Blanchan and perhaps others have noticed a peculiarity of its 
amusement flights, which take place occasionally during mi- 
eration as well as during the breeding season, which is best 
discribed by Gentry: “It moves in wide spiral circles, without 
apparently vibrating the wings. ‘These movements are pro- 
longed at will, and often last for a considerable time. Their 
object cannot be the detection of prey, which such great height 
would assuredly favor, as it is seldom that its apparent absorp- 
tion is broken, even when its most favorite quarry comes in 
full view. It is purely the result of pleasurable emotions. 
When weary thereof, it glides earthward with a momentum 
truly wonderful; but just before it reaches the ground, it 
cheeks its velocity with surprising skill.” 
Without attempting a display of mere words, Preston’s ac- 
count adds something to our knowledge: “On warm summer 
days, this bird forsakes its ordinary flapping flight and the 
shadows of the woods, and indulges in a series of zrial per- 
formances befitting a bird of higher station. Suddenly, one 
will start up briskly from some dead tree in the forest, and 
begin its upward course in short circles, rising quickly and 
easily, by gradually widening spirals, assisting itself by vigor- 
ous flapping until well up, when the metallic scream ceases, 
and with full spread wings and tail it soars lightly back and 
