THE AMERICAN SPARROW HAWK. 313 



where these little Hawks are abundant, every such pole in sight stretching 

 across a prairie may sometimes be seen occupied by this or some larger 

 species; they appear to be very attractive to all the Raptores, affording them 

 an unobstructed view of the surroundings. Now and then this species is 

 charged with molesting a young chicken, which may possibly be true in 

 rare instances, but I am inclined to believe this to be in most cases the work 

 of the little Sharp-shinned Hawk, with which it is often confounded by 

 the average farmer. Their common call note is a shrill "kee hee, kee hee " 

 repeated several times. 



The number of eggs laid by this species seems to vary from three to 

 seven; the latter number is rare, however, five and four being the number 

 most commonly found. Personally I have examined some forty nests of 

 this species, and in no case have I found over five eggs to a set. They 

 are deposited at intervals of a day. Their shape varies greatly, the ma- 

 jority ranging from a rounded ovate to an oval, and a few may be called 

 elliptical ovate. A very peculiar shaped set in the U. S. National Museum 

 collection I would call blunt cuneiform. 



The ground color of these eggs ranges from a pure clear white in a 

 few instances to pale buff or cream color in the majority, and to a bright 

 cinnamon rufous in a few others. They are spotted, blotched, marbled, and 

 sprinkled with different shades of walnut brown, chestnut, cinnamon rufous, 

 and ochraceous in various patterns ; frequently these markings are conflu- 

 ent, predominating in some specimens on either end; in others they are 

 heaviest in the center, forming a wreath. Mixed among the various tints a 

 few eggs show handsome lavender colored shell markings. Scarcely any 

 two sets are exactly alike. In some the markings are regular and minute, 

 in others they are coarse and bold, and occasionally a specimen is entirely 

 unmarked, being pure white throughout. I have found two such eggs 

 among first sets. 



The average measurements of a series of one hundred and sixty-nine 

 eggs in the U. S. National Museum collection is 35 by 29 millimetres. 

 The largest egg measures 39 by 32, the smallest 31 by 28 millimetres. 

 Both extremes were taken by myself near Camp Harney, Oregon. 



Of the type specimens, No. 17926 (PI. 10, Fig. 11), from a set of five, 

 was taken by Mr. W. A. Cooper, near Santa Cruz, California, May 9, 1875; 

 No. 20638 (PI. 10, Fig. 16), from a set of five; No. 20640 (PI. 10, Fig. 

 14), from an incomplete set of three; No. 20643 (PI. 10, Figs. 12 and 15), 

 two, from a set of four, were all taken near Camp Harney, Oregon, on 

 May 23 and 24, 1875, and June 1, 1875, respectively. No. 20660 (PI. 10, 

 Fig. 13), is from a set of five taken near Fort Walla Walla, Washington, 

 May 22, 1881. All are from the Bendire collection. 



