THE 00L0GI8T. 



129 



farther notice of her, but bent my eyes upon 

 the bnucb of twigs in the bole. Ju 1 •■■<• of 

 my disgust, ye who can, wheu I saw, in- 

 stead of a fine set of six eggs, listed at $ 2.50, 

 a nicasly. ill-conditioned set af five Sparrow 

 hawks, worth 35 cents each. At any other 

 time I should have been fairly well satisfied 

 but now, when I had made my mind up for 

 a set of Pigeon hawks, for that Sparrow 

 hawk to have the effrontery to lay her un- 

 invited eggs there was simply outrageous. 



This hawk feeds upon mice, grass hoppers, 

 beetles and other insects, which it follows 

 with great eagerness. He is a swift flyer, 

 and is capable of remaining on the wing for 

 a considerable time. This bird lays its eggs 

 in hollow trees or in deserted wood-peckers 

 nests. The eggs, which are from four to 

 six, are very handsome, being white, marked 

 with reddish brown, often so thickly as to 

 entirely cover the ground color. The eggs 

 are 1.36 by 1.15 inches in size, subject to 

 variations, both in size and color. 



American Ospkey ; Fish Hawk. 



This hawk, as is to be supposed from its 

 name, lives entirely upon fish, which it 

 catches with great dexterity. They are 

 very strong flyers, and are migratory, ar- 

 riving here about the first of April, being 

 closely followed by numerous Bald Eagles, 

 who rob the Osprey of his food whenever it 

 is possible. The Fish hawk often hooks to 

 large fish, and sometimes they are drawn un- 

 der by very large ones, as it is not very 

 easy to withdraw its sharp toes from the 

 back of its prey. 



The Bald Buzzard, as this species is often 

 called, is very peacef ully inclined, never at- 

 tacking birds. Grackles have been known 

 to build nests in the outer limbs of a Fish 

 hawks nest, and both raise their broods. The 

 Fish hawk is very devoted to its young, and 

 will defend them to the last extremity. 



It will be noticed that this hawk is very 

 strong and muscular, being well-knit and 

 without a superfluous load of leg and tail 

 feathers. 



The Fish hawks nest is a huge ' "raft ' ' of 

 sticks and limbs, usually placed in a tall 



dead stub. The eggs are handsome, and 

 arc marked with reddish brown, very thickly 

 around the larger end. I have a set of four 

 of this species in my possession, which have 

 each of them a single blotch cf umber, en- 

 tirely concealing the smaller end of the egg. 

 Those in my collection average 2.42 inches 

 by 1.75 inches in size, and are very heavily 

 marked. 



The Duck Hawk is occasionally seen in 

 this locality, but not often. 



Sharp Shinned Hawk. 



The range of this small hawk is large, and 

 it is very common. It builds a large flat 

 nest in evergreen thickets, making them of 

 small twigs with rarely any lining. This 

 species lays four or five white eggs, marked 

 with umber and sepia of varying shades. 

 They measure 1,35 inches by 1,15 inches, 

 but vary in size. 



Golden Eagle. 



This noble bird inhabits all of North 

 America and Europe. In the Adirondack 

 Mountains in Franklin, Hamilton, St Law- 

 rance arid other counties is quite abun- 

 dant. 



The Golden Eagle is very cleanly in his 

 habits, removing all blood and dirt from 

 his feathers after each repast. 



I have nothing to say concerning the nid- 

 ification of this bird, but I sincerely wish I 

 coiild write a lengthy ai-ticle on this subject 

 from my own personal observations. I have 

 seen one Golden Eagles nest — from below — 

 and expect when flying machines that are 

 practical are invented to take a set of eggs 

 from that brush heap, but at present I have 

 no desire to be let down over an abyss — I 

 won't try to tell how deep — down, down, for 

 a hundred feet to the shelf on which the 

 nest is situated. 



Bald and Sea Eagles are to be found in 

 this county, but as the former was so ably 

 described in the May Oologist, and as I 

 have never seen any of the latter, I will not 

 say anything about them. 



V. L., St. Lawrance Co. N. Y. 



