4 THE AUD U BON (BU til tei 
male was a good provider and often brought back more mice than his mate 
could possibly eat. This surplus was ingeniously stored in a hollow stub 
in a nearby tree against future need. 
The falcons were courageous in the defense of their nest. I saw them 
drive away a large red-tailed hawk that innocently happened to be flying 
near, and woe be to any squirrel or crow that ventured too near their 
beloved eggs. They showed no fear of me when I climbed to their nest. 
Wheeling and screaming above, they would take turns at diving at me from 
Young red-shouldered hawks, May 30 
back and front, sometimes coming within six inches of my head. It was 
thrilling to see one of these audacious little mites flashing toward me with 
the wind whining through half-closed wings, dark eyes flashing, and lean 
yellow talons in an attitude of attack. 
Only two of the eggs hatched, and soon the little nestlings were rapidly 
acquiring their feathers. As soon as the tail feathers, wing coverts, and 
back feathers appeared it was easy to determine the sex of the young, one a 
male and one a female. They developed more rapidly than the red-shoul- 
