Raptores, Bristol County, Mass. 
Hilton B. Read. 
I _ 
I Cooper’s Hawk ( Aecipiter Cooperi). Our 
commonest hawk. Breeds in all sections of 
the county. Arriving in number by the mid- 
dle of March, though a few individuals remain 
during the winter. 
By the first week in May they have laid their 
full complement of eggs and somet imes earlier, 
as I have found full sets April 25. Four or 
ffve is the usual number for a complete set, 
and only as exceptional instances, is so large | 
a number as six found, although the latter 
number has been recorded as a set. 
The nest is, in the majority of cases, built in 
a pine, and when viewed externally, resembles 
that of the Crow. The lining, if it can be 
called such, is simply small pieces of bark, 
lacking both the warmth and the interior ar- 
rangement of Corvus. 
The eggs are, when fresh, of a white color, 
faintly tinged with blue, which in cabinet 
specimens cannot be observed. A few small 
brown specks are sometimes seen on some 
specimens; the eggs on the whole greatly re- 
sembling those of C. hu dson ius. 
O.&O. XIX.Aug. 1887 p.118-/]? 
New Eng. Raptores. Number Eggs in 
a set. F. H. Carpenter. 
Cooper’s Hawk, ( Aecipiter cooperi). 
112 sets of 4 
57 “ “ 5 
17 “ “ G 
O .&o. XII. Oct. 1887 p.167 
Collection of Raptores Eggs. J.P.N. 
Cooper's Hawk, -‘I--. I--!. 12-4,4-5, 1-6, 21 83 
O.&o. XV. Apr. 1890. p. 58 
Wanderings. No. 3. 
While sitting at my desk this evening, witli 
my brain fairly aching from the labors of the 
day, I picked up my “Field Notes” to carry 
myself away from the noise and racket of the 
city, and imagine myself among the woods, 
where I have often in my earlier days found 
rest and relief, my eye fell upon a bit of pencil 
sketch, which carried me back to a day now 
long gone. 
It was in the early part of May, 1883, a 
perfect spring day, \in the noted old town of 
Braintree, Mass., that I found myself in the 
far southeast corner .of the town near a small 
sheet of water known as Cranberry Pond, 
which lies closely surrounded by hills, and 
bosomed in the shades of the thick forests 
which surround it. 
My companion was one unknown to the 
scientific world at large but, for all that, a true j 
scientist, an enthusiastic collector, and a firm 
friend of the truest color, Mr. Geo. C. Gates, 
one of the first of my companions in the field, 
and now some time since gone “ the way of all 
mankind” by that scourge <jf New England, 
consumption. 
While eagerly scanning the high trees for j 
Hawks’ nests, and climbing the tall pines, only 
to find untenanted nests, we at last saw a bird 
dart off among the trees and following up the 
trace found a nest in one of the most difficult 
trees that it has ever been my misfortune to 
tackle ; but the surroundings of the place almost 
made us forget our errand. It was a tall, slim 
white pine, without a limb for twenty feet, then 
succeeded by small twigs and crowned by a 
coronet of boughs. It stood in a glade by the 
side of a brook, one of those places which 
makes one feel like shutting his eyes and in 
imagination hear the voices of Nature whisper 
their secrets to us. As a friend of mine has 
said, “He would like to hear the ‘Messiah’ 
sung here. ’ ’ 
I was awakened from a reverie by a sigh 
from my comrade, who awoke to business 
before I did, and as usual we drew lots to see 
who would climb the tree. He drew the ticket 
and commenced his ascent. It was a tough 
job, and many times I held my breath, as lie 
slipped back a few feet. But pluck conquered, 
and his shout proclaimed a prize; but it turned 
out to be a solitary egg of the Cooper’ s Hawk . 
Owing to the difficulty of getting there, it was 
deemed advisable to take this egg, and dis- 
posing of his prize in what he considered a safe 
place, he commenced his descent. When 
about thirty-five feet from the ground, in at- 
tempting to get over a dead limb, his hold 
slipped and he commenced to slide down, 
finally falling away entirely and bringing up] 
on the ground with a thud that made my bloodl 
chill with fear. But what was my surprise, on] 
rushing up to him, to have him open his eyes, 
put his hand to his mouth and produce the egg, 
with the laconic remark, “ Got him, old man.” 
To say that I was relieved was putting the 
tiling mildly, for I expected to see him carried 
off on a stretcher, instead of which lie walked 
out, but was pretty lame for some time. 
Since that time I have “shinned” up many 
a difficult tree and fallen — well, more than 
once; but I think I shall never forget the feel- 
ing of dread as I saw him before me on the 
ground, nor the expression of his face as he 
looked up with his “ got him.” 
