IO 



The Hawkeye Ornithologist and Oologist. 



the study of Ornithology and Oology. 

 We will find them in every branch of 

 science that has any money in it, so 

 we must make the best of the matter 

 and give them a wide berth. 



Most of the common varieties of 

 eggs in our collection were collected 

 when it was rulable to "Wow" them 

 by making small holes in the ends. 

 We haven't replaced them by eggs 

 blown on the side because of the as- 

 sociations connected with them, still 

 some of our eggs collected in the past 

 few years have been prepared for the 

 cabinet in the manner now in use. 



For the Hawkeye 0. and 0. 



THE RED-TAILED HAWK, 430. 



(Buteo boreal Ik. ) 



BY H. W. DAVIS, NORTH GRANVILLE. 



WASHINGTON CO., NSW YORK. 



The above bird is quite abundant 

 around this locality in the breeding 

 season, but their eggs are quite diffi- 

 cult to obtain, owing to the great, 

 heighth and large trees they select 

 for their nests. 



To do any collecting one must be 

 accompanied by climbers and a good 

 determination. On April 25th in 

 company with a friend of mine who 

 most always accompanied me on my 

 collecting trips, because he was a fine 

 climber, we took a fine set of three of 

 this species. We entered a thick, 

 heavy timber in which no sign of 

 opening buds were to be seen, but 

 plenty of hard wood trees with the 

 dead leaves clinging to them. It was 

 in one of these the nest was placed, 

 being only about thirty feet from the 

 ground. 



The nest was in about the center of 

 the woods. We crept up as slowly and 

 still towards it as we could and were 

 soon informed that it was inhabited 

 by the fact that the tail of the female 

 was sticking out over the edge of the 



nest. Arriving at the foot of the tree 

 and hammering on the same with a 

 stick, thought of course I could make 

 the female fly off, but could not stir 

 the bird from its comfortable position 

 until my partner had got about half 

 way up, then the startled bird left 

 the nest and was soon joined by her 

 mate. They would start and fly 

 straight for your face as if they were 

 going to swoop down and get their 

 eggs, but just before they would get 

 to you they would take a quick 

 sharp turn and alight on some tree 

 near by, so that I could have shot 

 both birds very easily. 



On reaching the nest he reported 

 "three eggs." They were all placed 

 in a handkerchief with the four 

 corners in his mouth, and all three 

 were safely brought to the ground. 



The nest was a large bulky affair 

 composed of sticks and twigs, mixed 

 together with dead grass, moss, etc., 

 and lined with a few feathers. 



The eggs were a bluish white, spot- 

 ted with brown and umber of vary- 

 ing shades. 



The color of the bird is a rich dark 

 brown; the wings are spotted with 

 dusky ami white; the tail is a bright 

 chestnut red. The under parts are 

 generally white with a streak of 

 brown across the breast. The legs 

 and feet are a bright yellow. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR PROPERLY 



FORMING COLLECTIONS OF 



BIRDS' EGGS. 



The following article, which was 

 published in the late Hoosier Natur- 

 alist, and credited to the Smithsonian 

 Bulletin, No. 139, contains such valu- 

 able suggestions that we republish it 

 for the benefit of those of our readers 

 who may not have read it before. 



The collection of birds' eggs for sci- 

 entific purposes requires far more 

 discrimination than the collecting of 



