General Notes. 
57 
its extremity, and the cavity from which she emerged was found on exami- 
nation to contain seven fresh eggs. This cavity had not been formed by 
drilling or digging by the birds, but was simply a natural hollow caused 
by decay. The cavity started at a point where the branch had been 
broken, and was at its opening about three inches in diameter. It ex- 
tended into the limb some two feet and a half, and the eggs were laid on 
the blackened rotten chips at its extremity. The birds had evidently de- 
signed to build in the tree, and having occupied much time at the work of 
drilling the hole spoken of in the main trunk, the female was obliged, 
by the necessity of laying her eggs, to find some immediate receptacle. 
So the natural cavity, in an entirely different part of the tree, was utilized. 
— W. E. D. Scott, Princeton , N. J. 
Nesting of the Duck Hawk ( Falco communis ) in Vermont. — 
On June 30, 1879, my friend, Mr. Frank Winslow, procured a fine female 
example of this species, on what is called “Buzzard Hill ” in the south 
part of Brandon. The locality is rough and rocky, and a pair have bred 
in this vicinity, so I am informed by Mr. Winslow, for a period of more 
than twenty years. They were very destructive to the poultry in the vi- 
cinity, and many unsuccessful attempts were made to shoot them, until 
Mr. Winslow, remaining concealed near the nest for an entire day, shot 
both male and female as they returned about dusk. At the same time he 
destroyed the nest, which then contained one egg. — F. H. Knowlton, 
Brandon , Vt. 
Prowess of the Bald Eagle ( Haliaetus leucocephalus). — Most of 
our recent authors have treated the Bald Eagle as a sluggish, fish-eating 
bird, whose entire stock of surplus . energy is devoted to robbing a more 
industrious and less powerful neighbor. That it has not entirely lost its 
old-time daring, so graphically described by Audubon, the following ac- 
count will show. I am indebted for my facts to Mr. Nathan Cobb, one of 
the oldest and most reliable of the professional Duck-shooters at Cobb’s 
Island, Va. The species is a permanent resident in the neighborhood of 
the island, though it is not often seen during the summer months. A few, 
however, are said to breed upon the opposite main-land. 
In the winter the Eagles are much more numerous than at any other 
time of the year, and my informant has, on several occasions, seen as many 
as eight at once. At this season the neighboring bays and creeks swarm 
with Wild-fowl, and upon these the Eagles principally live. He has never 
known them to capture fish of any kind, although they not unfrequently 
rob the Fish- Hawk. Geese and Brant form their favorite food, and the 
address displayed in their capture is very remarkable. The poor victim 
has apparently not the slightest chance for escape. The Eagle’s flight, 
ordinarily slow and somewhat heavy, becomes, in the excitement of pur- 
suit, exceedingly swift and graceful, and the fugitive is quickly overtaken. 
When close upon its quarry the Eagle suddenly sweeps beneath it, and, 
