188 NESTS AND EGGS OF 



New England States, New York, Delaware, etc. It formerly bred in 

 Ohio, but not of recent date. In the West it has been found breeding 

 in Washington Territory, Oregon, Idaho and Utah. 



Mr. Norris' cabinet contains two sets of four eggs each ; one collect- 

 ed in the Wasatch Mountains, Utah, May 29, 1868. They have a cin- 

 namon ground color, heavily spotted and blotched with burnt umber ; 

 sizes, 1.56x1.25, 1.59x1.25, 1.56x1.21, 1.59x1.23. Another set from 

 Bingham county, Idaho, taken May 13, 1885, have a creamy-white 

 ground color, sprinkled, spotted and blotched with chestnut ; sizes, 

 1.44x1.22, 1.56x1.24, 1.52x1.25, 1.47x1.22. 



The nests of this Hawk are variously situated ; in the cavity of a 

 cliff, in the hollow of a tree, on the branches of trees, and somtimes 

 under the roofs or between the rafters of ruined or deserted buildings. 



358. Falco rlchardsonli Ridgw. [418.] 



Richardson's Merlin. 



Hab. Interior of North America, northward to the Arctic regions, south in winter to Texas and Ari- 

 zona; straggles west to the Pacific coast. 



Richardson's Merlin is said to breed in the Rocky Mountains of 

 Colorado, and from thence northward. Its habits in general are iden- 

 tical with those of F. columbarus. Professor Ridgway describes a 

 single specimen of the egg of this bird as " buffy- white, handsomely 

 marbled and irregularly spotted with madder-brown ;" size, 1.52x1.22.* 



359. Falco fusco-coerulescens Vieill. [419] 



Aplomado Falcon. 



Hab. Southern Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, south to Patagonia. 



This beautiful bird, known as the Femoral Falcon, is common, 

 and has a wide range in South and Central America ; and specimens 

 of the bird, its nests and eggs have been taken in Southern Texas, 

 along the banks of the Rio Grande, and in Arizona. Dr. James C. 

 Merrill found nests of this species on June 16, 1877, and May 7, 1878, 

 near Fort Brown, Texas ; they were placed on the tops of the low Span- 

 ish bayonet, and were simply slight platforms of twigs with depres- 

 sions, lined with a little grass. Two nests contained three eggs each. 



The eggs measure 1.78x1.34,1.84x1.29, 1.73x1.32. Their ground 

 color is white, but so thickly dotted with reddish as to appear of that 

 color ; over these are somewhat heavier markings of deeper shades of 

 brown. The three others measure 1.80x1.29, 1.77x1.33, 1.88x1.33. 



360. Falco sparverius Linn. [420, 420a.] 



American Sparrow Hawk. 



Hab. North America in general. South to Northern South America. 



This beautiful little Hawk is abundant evervwhere in North 



Manual of North American Birds; p. 251. 



