140 
ALLEN'S naturalist’s LIBRARY. 
wings, with a listless, slow motion like that of a Great Owl— 
^mirably described in Sir John Sebright’s little pamphlet on 
Haw^king,-- -but by everyday practice and constant flying at the 
Black Partridges, high feeding, and carefully training them to 
become familiar with men, dogs, and all other objects likely to 
fiighten them, they become, in two or three months, perfect 
at the work. One bird I had used to be unleashed at my tent- 
door, and would fly to the nearest tree, and as the party set 
out through forest and glade, would fly from tree to tree, and 
thus keep on, quite up to the beaters and the dogs, never lag- 
png behind till a bird was flushed, but always sufficiently 
forward to receive the quarry as it rose. ... I have taken 
a dozen jungle-fowl in a couple of hours with my Gos-Hawks 
using dogs to flush the birds. They have also killed Peacocks 
in a single flight, and Hares, without having been hooded. I 
have also taken Teal and Ducks in wooded swamps by 
appearing at the water at a point whence a distant view could 
be had of the water-fowl. The Hawk, on being shown the 
Ducks, would fly at once to the tree nearest to them, and there 
wait in ambush. The beaters were then sent to flush the fowl 
one of which the Hawk caught in the air as the flock rose’ 
almost perpendicularly, out of the water.” ’ 
Nest — Tl'.e Gos-Hawk breeds early ; at the end of April or 
early in May. 'Phe nest is a large structure of sticks, and is 
often occupied for years m succession, and being added to 
during each period of tenancy, often attains to great dimen- 
sions. It is placed in a beech- or fir-tree, often at a great 
height from the ground, occasionally in an oak, and the in- 
terior of the nest is lined with moss, roots, and lichens 
according to Mr. Seebohm, but not with green leaves. ’ 
.Eggs.— From three to five, four being the usual number- 
Ihey are pale bluish-green, almost white, and on rare occa- 
sions spots have been found on them. According to Colonel 
Irby, they are sometimes so stained with dirt as to appear 
quite yellow, like the eggs of a Grebe which had been sat on 
for some time. Axis, 2-2-2-45 > diam., 17. 
II. THE AMERICAN GOS-HAWK. 
J^alco atricapillus, Wilson, Amcr. 
(1812). 
ASTUR ATRICAPILLUS. 
Orn. vi. pi. 52, fig. 3 
