BIRD PARADISE 125 



than most of his fellows. His cupboard which 

 includes the entire swamp where he dwells is al- 

 ways well filled with a great variety of food. 

 From what I have seen I conclude that among 

 the smaller creatures that live there he classes 

 them all as welcome parts of his daily bread. 

 This hawk is quite apt to take excursions in the 

 night, being closely allied in some of its habits 

 with the common barn-owl. It puts its nest on 

 the ground or in a tussock of grass, taking care to 

 select a location well surrounded by water. I 

 enjoy the easy movements of the marsh-hawk as 

 he goes to and fro over his watery domain. The 

 other day I was watching one that seemed to be 

 out for a little pastime when suddenly he stopped 

 and dropped down to the bog and when he arose 

 again bore a large frog in his talons. I have 

 seen once or twice a party of crows invade the 

 precincts of this hawk's summer home. Their 

 coming to the place is the signal for the most 

 vigorous action on the part of the hawk, the 

 crows tumbling over each other in their eagerness. 



I heard the call of the cuckoo this week. He 

 is the last comer of all our birds and does not 

 seem to have a friend outside of his own honse- 



