14 
Vol. XVI 
SOME NOTES ON TME NESTING OF THE SHARP-SHINNED HAWK 
By HENRY J. RUST 
WITH EIGHT PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR 
M y OPPORTUNITY" for observing- the nesting of the Sharp-shinned 
Hawk {Accipitcr z'clos) liegan on the 15th of June, 1913. I was passing 
liy a dense stand of Douglas fir {Pseudofsiiga taxifoUa) on the south 
slope of Tubb’s hill*, about half way between the summit and the base, when an 
unusual disturbance was heard among the members of a small Hock of mountain 
chickadees. 1 surmised that a hawk was causing the trouble and on drawing 
closer a male Sharp-shinned Hawk flew out of the thicket and lit on a fir tree 
nearby. 
Yly presence was noted immediately, perhaps before the bird left the thicket, 
and brought forth a continuous “cha, cha, cha, cha”. I realized at once that I 
was considered an intruder and had been warned to leave ; however, I could not 
resist the temptation to look for a nesting site, and on entering the thicket I soon 
discovered the nest, and the secret was out. A light rap on the trunk of the tree 
and the mother bird left the nest ; with a slight motion of the wings she reached a 
large fir tree about 25 yards distant and perched on a limb where the nest could 
be observed. 
The nest was situated well up in a small-sized Douglas fir. Owing to the 
density of the stand the lower limbs were very small and brittle. Laying aside 
hat and coat 1 made ready for a visit to the home. After no little eflfort I 
reached the brim of the nest and felt well repaid by even one gaze at the five 
heautiful eggs lying in the slight hollow of the nest. 
The nest was composed entirely of small dry fir twigs and was situated 34 
feet from the ground, on the south side of the tree, and measured 32 inches in 
length, 17 inches in width, and 8 inches in greatest depth. It was saddled on 
three limbs averaging three-fourths of an inch in diameter, two of them 8 inches 
apart at the outer edg'e of the nest and the other space t 6 inches. The nest was 
a little thicker at the trunk of the tree. This, with the upward angle of the three 
limbs, gave a fairly good bearing for holding the nest secure during the swaying 
of the trees as a result of hartl wind and rain storms so common in this locality. 
The diameter of the tree at the nest was 5^4 inches, and at the base, breast high, 9 
inches. As the tree began to reach the light towards its top the limbs were more 
numerous and the foliage much denser, so that a few feet above the nest they 
formed a heavy shade. 
The eggs were lying in a slight depression in about the center of the nest. 
There was no lining of any kind, except one wing feather of an old bird near the 
eggs, which had probably been 'lost during nest-building. The ground-color of 
the eggs was a light greenish, with heav}- irregular markings of rich brown. 
Size of eggs: 1.50x1.37, 1.50x1.36, 1.50x1.31, 1.48x1.32, 1.48x1.25. 
The mother bird showed her disapp'roval of my presence by a constant ‘‘cha, 
cha, cha,” much shriller than the note of the male, and by darting back and forth, 
striking close enough to raise my hair with the rush of her wings. The male 
bird kept up similar but less shrill cries, but did not strike at me though he kept 
passing back and forth near the nest. In hopes of taking a series of photographs 
of the nest, eggs and young, I left the nesting site with the intention of returning 
* A small hill bordering- on the shore of I.ake Coenr d’ Alene and forming part of the tn-svnship of Coeur 
d' Alene, Idaho. 
