THE YOUNG OOLOGIST. 



99 



Firmly locked together, each was fight- 

 ing with that grim despair which only 

 comes when death impends. 



In this case, however, the desperation 

 was mainly on the part of the Jay, as with 

 beak and talons the Hawk was fast reduc- 

 ing both his plumage and his courage. But 

 it was by no means so one-sided as might 

 appear, for in the little time that I watched 

 them the Jay drove his sharp beak into one 

 of the Hawk's eyes and again into the back 

 of his neck in such a vicious manner as 

 made him wince very perceptibly. 



This duel would have undoubtedly re- 

 sulted in the death of the Jay before very 

 long, as already his wing and tail feathers 

 were gone and the snow for some distance 

 around was covered with his characteristic 

 blue plumage. 



Determined to die game, he was fighting 

 till the last, but was foolishly expending 

 much of his energy in heartrending cries 

 indicative alike of stern defiance and a 

 rapidly waning hope. Interspersed with 

 these dying throes came the harsh exultant 

 tones of the Hawk, too often cut short and 

 assimilated to the mourning of the Jay by a 

 fierce jab of the latter's beak into some ex- 

 posed portion of the Hawk's body. 



After studying the duel for some time I 

 brought it to a sudden close by shooting 

 both birds. The Jay was quite well picked 

 and partially skinned also. The Hawk 

 made a good specimen and was preserved. 

 The insertion of a glass eye in place of the 

 one he was unwary enough to lose made 

 him almost perfect. 



There is a suggestion in this latter fact 

 that possibly as a result of similar encoun- 

 ters there are among birds, as among men, 

 certain one-eyed individuals, and it would 

 be instructive to ascertain whether in such 

 instances that wonderful precision by which 

 the Hawk strikes his quarry endures the 

 loss. C. B. Wilson, 



Waterville, Me. 



Thie Fish Hawk. 



Pandion halieetus Carolinensis. 



The following article was taken from an 

 old paper and sent us by a friend, thinking 



it might be of interest to the readers of the 

 Young Oologist : 



In the "Naturalist's Guide" (1877), Part 

 II., Catalogue of the Birds of Eastern 

 Massachusetts, by C. J. Maynard, is the 

 following note : ' ' Pandion Carolinensis, 

 Bon. Not a common summer resident, 

 growing less so every year. Perhaps a 

 few breed in the interior, but it is doubtful. " 

 Mr. Maynard also placed the bird in his 

 list of regular spring and autumn migrants. 



I was much surprised when I read this 

 note, as no bird is more familiar in this 

 locality than the Fish Hawk. It is with us 

 a regular summer resident, arriving early 

 in the month of March and departing earlj^ 

 in November, and breeds every season 

 quite abundantly. From more than a 

 quarter of a century's personal observation 

 I can attest that these Hawks have not per- 

 ceptibly diminished in number in this 

 vicinity, and I can find a dozen or more 

 nests of this species within an hour's 

 drive of my home which have been 

 occupied by them for years, and in which 

 they have annually reared their young. 

 For nearly nine months of the year I can 

 look up any day, and almost any time of 

 the day, and see one or more Fish Hawks 

 watching for their prey or going to and 

 from the nest. Some of the nests are locat- 

 ed near Taunton, Great River, or on the 

 shores of Mount Hope or Narragansett 

 Bay, and some are situated a mile or more 

 from the water. Perhaps I live in a para- 

 dise for Fish Hawks, but I should not 

 have been more surprised to have read that 

 the Robin and Bluebird and the Song- 

 Sparrow were uncommon summer resi- 

 dents, and that but few of them breed in 

 this region. Though not so numerous as 

 Swallows or Blackbirds, if the phrase 

 " common summer resident " is applicable 

 to any representative of our avi-fauna, it 

 is applicable to Pandion Tialeatus. The 

 Osprey begins to build, or much more com- 

 monly, to repair an old one, soon after 

 their arrival. From two to four eggs are 

 the usual complement, and incubation 

 commences in May. While the female is 

 setting the male brings her food and at 



