Breeding of the Goshawk 
211 
I saw this bird July 1-4 at the Harvard Forest school, in 
Petersham. It was confined in a cage in the back yard. When 
I saw that this very young but practically full-grown Goshawk 
was in complete juvcnal dress, I inquired immediately as to its 
antecedents and learned the facts just related. Although in fine 
feather and in apparent good health and spirits when I saw him, 
this young bird died shortly after my visit to Petersham — on 
July 12, as has been said. The bird was forwarded in the flesh 
to me, and a skin was made which is now, through the kind 
offices of Hon. Herbert Parker, in the Thayer Museum at South 
Lancaster, Massachusetts. 
The ju venal plumage of a Goshawk at this age (probably 
about 2i/o months) and born in Massachusetts may lie worth 
a few words of description. The bird was full-grown, but some 
of its claws were dulled owing to contact with the ground in its 
cage; length almost 2 feet; length of tail (estimated) 10-11 
inches. The bird was not in good condition for the determina- 
tion of sex, but may have been a female. The cervix is almost 
tawny and so is in strong contrast to the darker scapulars and 
interscapulars which are, however, edged with a diminished 
shade of this same color. This beautiful edging of the feathers 
of the back extends also all over the wing-coverts; the second- 
aries in their perfect array are light (almost whitish) tipped; 
the large, long tertials are the same as the secondaries. The 
under tail-coverts with their dark “spearheads” are very long — 
so too the flank-feathers. The buff}^ suffusion, usual on the 
chest of young hawks, is rather deep in this specimen and 
extends well down on the breast. 
I am informed by Mr. M. Abbott Frazer, the well-known 
taxidermist of Boston, of a previous nesting of the Goshawk in 
Massachusetts which, however, was never recorded. A dozen or 
more years ago he saw in a small collection of mounted birds 
in Townsend, Middlesex Co., an adult female Goshawk, together 
with two badly-blown eggs which were said to have been taken 
from her nest in that town. Mr. Frazer tells me that he sent 
one of these eggs by mail to Mr. William Brewster but it was 
broken in transit. Mr. Brewster kept the fragments of the egg, 
but never published the record. Mr. Frazer cannot now recall 
the date which was given him as that of the finding of this nest. 
I am glad also to announce the summering of the Winter 
Wren (N. hiemalis ) in Petersham. This is the most eastern 
record of the species in summer in many years in Massa- 
