BROAD- WINGED HAWK. 463 



the muscles become paralyzed, when it drops, and again employs the 

 same means of defence. 



When feeding, it generally holds its prey with both feet, and tears 

 and swallows the parts without much plucking. I must here remark, 

 that birds of prey never cover their victims by extending the wings over 

 them, vniless when about to be attacked by other birds or animals, that 

 evince a desire to share with them or carry off the fruit of their exer- 

 tions. In the stomach of this bird I have found wood-frogs, portions of 

 small snakes, together with feathers, and the hair of several small species 

 of quadrupeds. I do not think it ever secures birds on the wing, at least 

 I never saw it do so. 



The nest, which is about the size of that of the Common Crow, is 

 usually placed on pretty large branches, and near the stem or trunk 

 of the tree. It is composed externally of dry sticks and briars, inter- 

 nally of numerous small roots, and is lined with the large feathers of 

 the Common Fowl and other birds. The eggs are four or five, of a 

 dull greyish- white, blotched with dark brown. They are deposited as 

 early as the beginning of March, in low places, but not until a fortnight 

 later in the mountainous parts of the districts in which the bird more 

 frequently breeds. 



The tree on which I have placed a pair of these birds is known near- 

 ly throughout the Union by the name of Pi^-nut Hickory. I have re- 

 presented it along with them, not because the birds themselves feed on 

 the nuts, as some people have supposed on seeing the drawing, but be- 

 cause it occurs abundantly in those States where the Broad-winged Hawk 

 resides, and, again, because I have found the nest of that bird more fre- 

 quently placed on its branches than on those of any other tree. The 

 nuts have an excessively hard shell. The kernel is sweet, but as it is of 

 small size, the nuts are seldom gathered for any other purpose than that 

 of feeding tame squirrels. The hogs which run at large in our woods 

 feed on them, as do aU our different species of squirrels, and some- 

 times the raccoon. The wood of this tree is perhaps tougher than that 

 of most of its genus ; but as the trunk is seldom either very straight 

 or very high, it is not used so much as some other hickories, for the 

 purposes of husbandry. Its average height may be estimated at about 

 fifty feet, and its diameter at from eighteen inches to two feet. 



