BIRDS OF EASTERN NORTH 

 CAROLINA. 



Catharistaatrata(Barti\), Black Vulture. 

 — This species is not quite so common as 

 the former, bat are just as beneficial. 1 

 do not know whether they breed here or 

 not, but think that they do, as they can 

 be seen at all times. 



Buteo lineatus (Gmel.), Red-sholdered 

 Hawk. — This Hawk the most numerous 

 o.' ail hawks, always builds its nest in 

 the highest trees it can hud, which is 

 nearly always a cypress, but sometimes 

 a pine. The nest is composed of coarse 

 twigs, and finer material, and lined witli 

 moss with a few feathers from the breast 

 o. the mother bird. The eggs number 

 from two to lour sometimes five, and are 

 about as handsome as any you will find. 

 They are generally dirt color, spotted 

 an t blotched with umber and brown. 



Falco sparverius (Linn.), American 

 Sparrow Hawk.— This stately little 

 Hawk is not very common: but 1 believe 

 that there are one or two pair to every 

 far. n, where they are very efficient in 

 keeping the larger Hawks from catching 

 the farmer's poultry. They always build 

 in some dead stump or tree, occupying a 

 deserted Flicker's nest or knot hole. I 

 have never taken any eggs, and have 

 never found many nests. One, I recol- 

 lect was in the top of a pine stump sixty 

 feet high. The excavation that the 

 Hawks occupied served as a home for a 

 pair of riving squirrels the winter before. 

 Bubo Virginian us (Gmel.), Great 

 Horned Owl.— The largest Owl with ear- 

 tufts is not verv well represented in this 

 locality. It is not very often that one's 

 long hoot can be heard, and when it is it 

 creates an impression not to be very soon 

 forgotten especially by the "small boy." 

 Bubo breeds here in the latter part of Feb- 

 ruary and the first of March. 



Megascrops assio (Linn.), Screech Owl 

 — The "Shivering Owl" as it is com- 

 monly called, can be heard uttering their 



unearthly cry nearly any night. I have 

 never found a nest, hut have heard of 

 them being found aboul here. 



Ardea virescens (Linn.), Green Heron. 

 — This species is the most coin inon of the 

 Herons that nest in this locality. They 

 generally nest in pine-thickets when- it 

 is convenient to obtain food, sometimes 

 building in nearly every bush available. 

 They never build more than twenty-live 

 feet high, and sometimes as low as five 

 or six feet from the ground. Their 

 nests arc poor affairs, and are made of 

 sticks and twi^s the size of a lead pencil, 

 formed into a kind of a platform with a 

 little hollow in the middle for holding 

 the eggs. Sometimes the eggs roll out of 

 the nest in a gentle breeze. The eggs 

 are generally four but often three some- 

 times five; are pale blue and about the 

 size of Common Crow's eggs. I have 

 found nests that contained three eggs 

 with incubation far advanced, while, on 

 the other hand 1 have found nests with 

 five fresh eggs. A set of four in my cab- 

 inet presents the following measure- 

 ments, viz: 1.54x1.11, 1.47x1.12,1.56x1.16, 

 1.40x1.13. 

 J. W. F. Smithwick, Sans Souci, X. C. 



(Continued from 1st page.) 

 third the way up, and composed of 

 dead pine, oak and maple sticks, lined 

 with bark, pine needles, feathers etc. I 

 noticed marks on this tree which showed 

 me that some one had climbed it recently, 

 so, after securing the eggs I wrote "too 

 late" on a card and pinned it on the tree. 

 I heard from it later. My companion 

 and I then made a blind by leaning 

 some dead wood against another pine 

 tree near by and covering it with brush. 

 We concealed ourselves in this and in 

 about an hour the female hawk came 

 back and lighted near the nest, but on 

 the side of the tree away from us. Wo 

 did not fire, hoping that she would come 

 nearer to us where we could have a bet- 

 ter shot, but instead she flew off and we 

 saw no more of her, although we wailed 

 several hours. 



CliAKENCB W. Rowley, Ellis. Mass. 



