The Marsh Hawk 



fm 





• - 



Taken in San Bernardino County 



"READY TO FIGHT OR READY TO DIE" 



YOUNG BIRDS USUALLY TAKE LIFE VERY SERIOUSLY 



Photo by Pierce 



now and then that he is a very good fellow — for she is a size larger than he 

 and a little exacting in matters of courtesy. 



Not only are the Marsh Hawks wedded for life, but the male is very 

 much devoted to his family. He assists in nest-building, shares the duty of 

 incubation, and is assiduous in providing for his brooding mate. A nesting 

 site is selected late in March, in April, or in May, according to latitude, 

 customarily in the tall grass adjoining a swamp, although latterly alfalfa 

 fields have come to be great favorites. If the ground is wet, sticks are first 

 laid down; but otherwise only grass, dead leaves, and weed-stems, with a 

 little hair and moss or feathers, are used to build up a low platform, broad 

 and slightly hollowed on top. Here four or five eggs, pale bluish green and 

 commonly unmarked, are laid ; but six is not unusual, and two sets of eight 

 are on record, of which one, by George Willett, is from this State. 



Fearing alike the blundering step and the wilful marauder, Marsh 

 Hawks are most zealous in defense of their nests. 1 The male bird main- 

 tains a sharp lookout in spite of his venatorial duties, and the approach 



1 Pacific Coast Avifauna, No. 

 l6 5 6 



, p. 46- 



