leap tores, Bristol County, Maas. 
Hilton B. Bead. 
Red-shouldered Hawk. {Buteo lineatxis ) . This 
“Henhawk” is a common resident of, and breeds 
throughout the entire country, but probably 
more abundanty in the heavily wooded tracts 
of the western section. 
Nesting is variable in time, having found 
fresh sets as early as April 16th and as late as 
May 11th, and in both cases I have positive 
knowledge of their being the first laying of 
the season. 
The number of eggs to a set has been found 
complete, in number, with two, three or four, 
the two former numbers being more frequently 
found than the latter. 
The eggs vary in color and markings, to a 
large extent, some having a nearly white ground 
color, with distinct blotches of various shades 
of brown, while others have the ground color 
tinged with drab, and lack the bright con- 
trasts of the others. In the large series 
before me I fail to find any which follow a 
similar coloration or resemble each other, even 
eggs from the same sets, contrast more strong- 
ly than those from different clutches. This 
variation is as perceivable in the eggs of the 
Red-tail, as those of the present species. They 
usually resort to large woods, and place the 
nest in a crotch of some tall tree, of good 
sized diameter of trunk, and often occupy the 
nest for successive seasons ; even when persist- 
ently harried by the collector they will return 
and build in the immediate vicinity, as has 
been the case with a pair from which I have 
secured clutches every spring since 78; they 
resorting to the same grove for nidification, 
building a new nest each season. 
O.&O. XII. Aug. 1887 p. 119 
New Bug. Rap tores. Number Eggsin. 
a set. P. H. Carpenter. 
Red-shouldered Hawk, 
( Buteo lineatus). 
104 sets 
of 2 
393 “ 
“ 3 
00 
“ 4 
9 “ 
“ 5 
O .& O. XII. Oct. 1887 p. 167 
Collection of Baptores Eggs. J.P.N. 
Re d-sh ouldered Hawk, 1-1, 1G-2, 32-3, 17-4, <;<; 
O.&O. XV. Apr. 1890. p. 56 
My Large Set of Buteo lineatus. 
After breakfast I put my traps in the buggy, 
hitched up the horse and started for a drive 
up the river road. The road for three or four 
miles is on the bank of the Hudson river, and 
for a pleasant drive on a summer’s day it is 
unequaled. 
The morning I mention was a cool, wet morn- 
ing the first week in May, 1890. It had rained 
the previous evening and the ferns and wild 
flowers were coming forth and sparkling in the 
morning sunshine. 
Along the road I noticed several new 
arrivals: Warblers, Flycathers, and Catbirds, 
and the Oriole’s whistle came from the trees. 
I drove along for about seven miles, and then 
noticed a piece of woods about three hundred 
yards from the road. It looked tempting, so 
I pulled in close to the fence, jumped out, tied 
and blanketed the horse. I then changed my 
shoes for a pair of rubber boots, took my 
climbers in one hand and my collecting box in 
the other and started. I reached the woods 
and found the ground in some places covered 
with water, and in some places there was 
about fourteen inches of nice, rich mud. Re- 
gardless of mud or water I started to examine 
some of the dead stubs the swamp contained. 
The first find was a pair of Chickadees build- 
ing a nest in a cavity in a rotten stump four 
feet from the ground. The next find was a 
Crow’s nest which contained four young and 
one egg. 
A little further on I came across a Blue- 
bird’s nest in a dead stump in the midst of the 
swamp, only three and a half feet from the 
ground. It contained two fresh eggs. I left 
these, and started along a fallen log when my 
attention was attracted to a large Hawk com- 
ing towards me. He settled in a tree about 
fifty yards ahead of me, and I identified him 
as Buteo lineatus, and made up my mind there 
was a nest close by. I immediately began to 
search for it and soon spied it in an ash tree 
forty feet up. I sat down and buckled on my 
climbers and started up, reached the nest and 
looked over. It contained ftvd eggs. One of 
them was slightly dented. I rolled them up 
in cotton and put them in a small bag, brought 
them down, put them in my collecting box and 
started for the wagon. 
Before I reached the place where I had 
left the horse it began to rain so I put my 
climbers, .collecting box, etc., in the wagon and L 
started for home. When I reached home I cut r . , 
Vr I y 
away the fractured part of the broken egg and ' 
jo 
1 , ui last 
J year s clutch of four. The old nest is well 
I preserved, and it is dollars to cents it will be 
occupied next season. B eing comparatively a 
yo ung ha wk, she now laysTrios and fours. 
The next set was from an o ld lineatu s that 
An expert after these base 
falcons would have known there was one 
breeding near, without seeing the nest, for 
every bush within twelve rods of the eyrie 
held a patch of down from the denuded breast 
of the sitting female. The present nest was 
m a direct line, next tree to last year’s home 
which will in turn, as we shall see, become the 
1890 abode. The Hell Gate set proved to be 
m design and coloring, a continuation of a 
long series. ^ 
removed the young bird. The egg would have 
hatched in a day or two. The incubation was 
not the same in all the eggs, but they were all 
pretty well advanced, and I was puzzled 
to know liow I was going to remove 
the embryos. I was soon struck with an 
idea. I took the eggs and drilled a hole in 
each of them and then arranged the spout of 
a common squirt can on a three quarter-inch 
garden hose, coupled the hose on a faucet and 
turned on the water. In this way I forced out 
all the blood and other matter except the 
young bird itself. Then I filled the eggs up 
with water and let them stand three days. 1 
thought I would put them on an anthill so I be- 
gan to shake out the water when lo ! T shook out 
young bird and all. They smelt pretty bad, but 
I remedied this by filling them witli lime water 
and letting them stand for twenty-four hours. 
//. C. Campbell. 
Lansinglmrgli, N. Y. 
O.&O, 1&. -July. 1890, P, no . 
,n e. 
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