74 
THE WILSON BULLETIN— June, 1922 
knoll, nearly bare of rye, seems to be occupied by the more 
powerful birds. On two different mornings these birds were 
seen to leave in a body after about two hours’ performance, the 
vacated center being immediately taken by a half dozen others 
who had been standing here and there on the outskirts. These 
presumably weaker roosters kept the ball rolling for another 
full hour! 
Specimens collected were in excellent condition in spite of 
their strenuous life at this season. Four of the largest weighed 
exactly two and a half pounds each, and the smallest two and 
a quarter. As Chapman mentions in “Camps and Cruises” 
only the cocks gather to perform, at least we saw no hens, 
though twelve to sixteen roosters were usually present. Late 
in the season two cocks went through the performance on bunch 
grass knolls less than a half mile distant, and nearby a lone 
hen was flushed and collected. Almost every morning the per- 
forming birds were harried by a large female Marsh Hawk, 
apparently only for mischief, as she never came anywhere 
near making a capture. All the brilliant markings on the as- 
sembled roosters instantly vanished on the hawk’s appearance, 
and they would fly only if forced to do so. 
The region including this “ cooing ground ” is full of sand 
burrs and weeds, some of the fields resting for years between 
crops. Western Meadowlarks fill the air with their music, 
and the restless swarms of Lapland Longspurs constantly cir- 
cle their favorite fields. To complete the picture of a western 
prairie, I one morning jumped two Jack Rabbits, survivors or 
descendants of some introduced many years before and sup- 
posed to have been long since exterminated. 
Falco peregrines anal um (Duck Hawk). — Some of the most 
interesting of our season’s experience were with these spectac- 
ular falcons, one eyrie being located in Sauk County and an- 
other in Columbia. For an extended account of these “finds” 
see Wilson Bulletin for December, 1921. 
Falco c. columbaria s (Pigeon Hawk). — This little under- 
study of the Duck Hawk is quite rare in this section. The only 
one seen was an adult in worn plumage collected near Mazom- 
anie, Dane County, on May 2, 1921. The stomach contained 
the remains of some kind of sparrow. 
Asio ivilsonianus (Long-eared Owl). — A nest containing five 
eggs was found five miles northwest of Prairie du Sac on May 
L“>, in a cedar thicket. As usual they were in an old crow nest, 
