THE COLLECTORS MONTHLY. 





Florida Red Shouldered Hawk- 



(Benteo lineatus alleni. ) 

 This Hawk is the commonest in this lo- 

 cality, being seen on almost any sunshiney 

 day sailing high up amongst the Vultures. 

 Its flight is easy and graceful and rivals that 

 of the vultures. The nest of this species is 

 a large bulky affair composed of sticks as 

 large as ones finger it is generally lined with 

 leaves and moss from the same tree in which 

 it is placed and sometimes a few feathers are 

 placed in it from the breast of the parent 

 It is generally placed in a pine oak and is from 

 25 to 50 ft. from the ground. The No. of 

 eggs laid ranges from 2 to 4, the latter being 

 the more frequent number found. The 

 ground color and markings of the eggs vary 

 a great deal, in some the eggs have aground 

 color of cream spotted and blotched with 

 roufous brown while in others the ground 

 color and markings are so confused as to be 

 indistinguishable. Some others are nearly 

 white with very few spots on them. They 

 nest in the dense bottom land bordering the 

 streams, the time being from the last of Feb- 

 ruary to the last of April. I found one set 

 of partly incubated eggs on March 15th while 

 on April 15th I found a set of fresh eggs. 

 The food of this bird is rats, birds, rabbits 

 and sometimes chickens in fact almost any 

 small animal or bird is not too delicate for 

 his palate. They are very affectionate par- 

 ents and keep their young plentifully suppli- 

 ed with food. They also protect them in 

 time of danger. 



L. L. Knox. 

 Giddings, Lee Co., Texas. 



Marsh-hawk it prefere* poultry and mice, and 

 is often very bold in its attacks. Like all 

 other hawks it is known by the name of "Hen 

 hawk" and the farmer is his worse enemy, 

 never loosing a chance to destroy him. Un- 

 like most of the hawks the sharp skinned does 

 not occupy the same nests for more than one 

 season. The time of depositing the eggs is 

 about the same as the Marsh- hawk, being 

 from the first of April to the middle of June. 

 The nest is placed in a tree usually in dense 

 pine woods, and is composed of small sticks. 

 It is nothing more than a platform with a 

 hollow in the middle. There is no lineing. 

 The eggs are generally four in number, blu- 

 ish white, speckled with umber. Average 

 measurement 1. 50x1. 13. 



Description of the Nests and 



Eggs of the Birds of 



Barnstable County, Mass. 



332, Sharp-skinned Hawk. 



(Accipiter velox.) 432. 



This is not a very common breeder here, 



but a few nests have been taken. This bird 



is the boldest of the hawks, and will often 



attack birds of its own size. Unlike the 



337. Bed Tailed Hawk. 



(Benteo Borealis.) 436. 

 This is the most common of our hawks. 

 It is a large bird, but lacks the pluck of the 

 Sharp-skinned. It is a frequent visitor to 

 poultry yards, but its chief food consists of 

 small birds, field moles, etc. The nest is 

 placed in high trees in deep pine or oak 

 woods. It is a large and heavy affair with 

 very little hollow in it, composed of sticks, 

 c orn husks and hay. I have seen them using 

 deserted crows nests. The same nest is often 

 used for many consecutive seasons. The eggs 

 are three in number, bluish white with no 

 markings in some and in others heavily 

 blotched with brown. Average measurement 

 2.35x1.80. _ __ __ 



339. Bed Shouldered Hawk. 



(Buteo lineatus.) 430. 



This hawk is nearly as abundant as the 

 last species and shares with it the name of 

 "chicken hawk," although it is not such a 

 common visitor to the barn yard as borealis. 

 Its habits are much the same, and the nest is 

 placed in about the same locality. The num- 

 ber of eggs is three, brownish, specklen with 

 reddish brown. 



The shades of the ground color and mark- 



