20 THE CONDOR VoL XVI

Being able to take negatives from a vertical position only, I put three of the young havks in a basket strapped on my back, descended to the ground vith them, placed them on a platform of tvigs on a large flat rock near the edge of the thicket, and made several exposures of them .nearly life-size. The mother bird uttered a few Iov cries vhen she missed the young from the nest, but made no further fuss. After returning the young to the nest I retired about tventy-five yards up the hillside where I could observe the nest with field glasses. The male hawk had been avay for a short time and vhen he returned the female flev to the opposite edge of the thicket to meet him, uttering low cries, and soon returned to the nest. She seemed avare of my presence and kept up a cobsrant scold'2ng for some time. Presently I noticed her begin to tear strips of meat from some small mammal or Fig. 14. FOUR OF THE YOUNG SHARP~SHIlINED HAWKS AS PHOTOGRAPHED JULY 19 ON A PLATFORM OF TWIGS NEAR THE NESTING TREE; NOTE FEATHER-DEVELOPMENT HERE SHOWN, AT AGES OF 15, 16 AND 17 DAYS bird she was holding dovn with one foot, and feed them to the young. I ascended the tree as quickly as I could to determine if possible the nature of the food, and on reaching the nest found the leg of a young bird, all that was left. I offered it to one of' the young hawks and it was gulped down whole, claws and all. I descended again and remained hidden for a long time, but not being able to observe any further feeding of the young I returned home. July I6 I visited the nest late in the alternoon. Peering over the edge I thought one of the young hawks dead, but it happened that the three larger birds were reposing on the bodies of the two smaller enes. The largest hawk, the first one hatched, resented any handling by squaring back with wings outstretched and striking quite a blow with its bill at my hand.