156 ALLEN, NOTES ON 



attached to it, or that its eggs and breeding habits were 

 but very little known to ornithologists ; and so, until very 

 recently, no particular efforts have been made to obtain 

 the eggs. Mr. Bennett, becoming aware of this, resolved 

 to procure the eggs. He accordingly visited Mount Tom 

 for this purpose April 7th of the present year, when he 

 searched the whole ridge of the mountain, discovered the 

 old birds and the particular part they most frequented, 

 and also the site of a nest, where young had been raised. 

 The old birds were continually near this spot, and mani- 

 fested much solicitude when it was approached, often 

 flying within six or eight rods, and once the female came 

 within three, screaming and thrusting out her talons with 

 an expression of great rage and fierceness. The birds did 

 not appear at all shy, being easily approached quite near 

 to, though in walking the cracking of sticks and the clink- 

 ing of the splinters of trap rock made no little noise. One 

 of the birds appeared to keep close to the eyrie, and both 

 would approach whenever it was visited, screaming at 

 and menacing the intruder, notwithstanding that at that 

 time there were no eggs, as was afterwards proved. Mr. 

 Bennett suspecting that incubation had already commenc- 

 ed visited the locality again on the 9th, but only saw the 

 old nest, the birds behaving as before. On April 19th, 

 ten days later, he made another visit, and creeping carefully 

 to the summit of the cliff, at a point near the eyrie already 

 spoken of, he saw the female, on looking over the cliff, sitting 

 on the nest, and but five or six yards distant. She eyed 

 him fiercely for an instant, and then scrambling from the 

 nest to the edge of the narrow shelf supporting it launched 

 into the air ; in a twinkling Mr. Bennett's unerring aim 

 sent her tumbling dead at the foot of the precipice, 

 several hundred feet below. The nest contained four 

 eggs, which were soon safely secured, and the body of the 

 female was obtained from the foot of the cliff. The male 

 soon coming about, was shot at, but he was too shy to 

 come within range, except once, while the gun was being 

 reloaded. The eggs were all laid after Mr. Bennett's 

 visit April 9th, and their contents showed, April 19th, 

 that they had been incubated but a day or two. Incuba- 

 tion seems in this case, to have commenced several weeks 



