THE OOLOGIST 



79 



thus tilted. On the ground under it 

 I picked up an egg tliat Iiad fallen a 

 distance of more than six feet and yet 

 it was not injured in the least. I then 

 inspected the nest and found that the 

 strong wind then blowing and whicn 

 had continued for two or three days 

 had turned the nest more than half 

 way over. I was about ready to leave 

 when I was surprised to see another 

 egg which had fallen from the nest 

 and lodged among the coarse sticks 

 that composed the base of the nest, 

 and this too was a perfect specimen. 

 Of course the bird had left the nest 

 and I did not observe them anywhere 

 in the vicinity. The nesting season o^:' 

 this hawk begins in March. My dates 

 of collecting range from March 6th to 

 May 10th, the set taken on the latter 

 date probably being a second set. The 

 majority of fresh sets are taken in 

 March, and I believe that only one set 

 is laid unless the first set is destroyed, 

 but even in that southern climate there 

 is more variation in the time of nest- 

 ing than is found in the North among 

 our buteos; for instance, in 1895 I did 

 not collect a single set until April 6th, 

 and the sets were all fresh at that 

 date. 



The nests of the White-tailed Hawk 

 are composed of coarse sticks at the 

 base with finer sticks in its upper 

 structure, fairly well depressed and 

 lined with small tufts of dry bunch- 

 grass pulled from the ground. The 

 latter nests I have found to be simi- 

 larly constructed, but the lining in 

 them will consist in part or wholly of 

 green leaves from the mesquite and 

 from the huisache trees. Like the 

 other buteos this hawk will use the 

 same nest year after year, adding to it 

 each year until it becomes quite bulky. 

 Sometimes the Western Horned Owl 

 will appropriate the old nest of this 

 bird, but you will find her at home in 

 a newly constructed nest somewhere 



in the locality, for like the other 

 buteos they cling to the old nesting 

 ground with much tenacity. 



In searching for the nests of this 

 hawk I was accustomed to mount a 

 Texas pony and drive out into the 

 great pastures. One of my favorite 

 collecting grounds was in a pasture 

 consisting of ninety-eight thousand 

 acres of land in a body, and I can as- 

 sure the reader that it afforded ample 

 ground for a collecting field. I knew 

 just where to go for I was well ac- 

 quainted with every part of it. Head- 

 ing the pony in a certain direction, I 

 would let him pick his way while I 

 kept an eye open to the horizon ahead 

 of me. The country is an undulating 

 coast plain, and at some point on the 

 top of a ridge or on the side slope, at 

 a point commanding a view of the sur- 

 rounding country for some distance, 

 the nest was to be found. The bird 

 will always leave the nest while the 

 intruder is quite a distance away, often 

 at a distance of a quarter of a mile, 

 for as I said above the nest commands 

 a broad expanse and the bird is always 

 on the watch. When the female leaves 

 the nest, the male bird usually joins 

 her at once and the two often dis- 

 appear and do not come in sight while 

 the nest is being examined; at other 

 times they mount high in the air, far 

 above the reach of a shotgun and di- 

 rectly above the nest, where they will 

 often stand poised in one spot for sev- 

 eral minutes at a time cooly watching 

 development below. At such a time 

 the birds always face the strong sea 

 breeze which blows so steadily and 

 strong that it is possible for them to 

 appear perfectly motionless and stand 

 suspended in mid-air. 



The White-tailed Hawk is a quiet, 

 inoffensive bird. I have never heard 

 it utter a cry at any time except in 

 rare instances when incubation wa3 

 advanced or when there were young 



