Part 38

Range.—Breeds in United States and Southern Canada; winters in the United States. 337a., Krider Hawk is a paler race found on the plains from Minn. to Texas. 337d., Harlan Hawk, is darker and has the tail mottled with blackish; found in the Gulf States.

RED-SHOULDERED HAWK 339. Buteo lineatus. 19 in.

Adults with the shoulders bright reddish-brown; primaries and secondaries barred with black and white; below buffy thickly barred with rusty-brown. Young with the shoulders duller; underparts white, streaked all over with blackish-brown. This is one of the most abundant of the birds of prey in Eastern United States, and it is also one of the most useful, destroying quantities of moles and field mice, as well as grasshoppers. Usually one or more pairs will be found in a piece of woods. One pair that I know, and I presume it is the same pair, each year has its nest on the edge of a colony of Black-crowned Night Herons and, during the season, they live and feed their young largely upon the young of these birds.

Nest.—Of sticks, lined with weeds and strips of bark; eggs white, blotched with brown (2.15 × 1.75). April, May.

Range.—Breeds from the Gulf to Maine and Minnesota. 339a. Fla. Red-Shouldered Hawk, found in Florida and north to So. Car., is paler colored.

SENNETT WHITE-TAILED HAWK 341. Buteo albicaudatus sennetti. 22 in.

Adults grayish-slate above and to the sides of the throat; tail and underparts white, the former with a subterminal band of black and indistinct wavy lines and the latter with fine barring on the sides. The shoulders are largely chestnut. Young birds are brownish-black above and usually white below, but the underparts are variable—often streaked with rusty and blackish, or even wholly black.

They are useful hawks, their food consisting chiefly of insects and moles or mice.

Nest.—Built in bushes in open land, rarely more than six feet above ground. Composed of sticks, dry weeds and grasses making a bulky structure visible for a long distance. Three eggs are not uncommon but two is the usual number; they are dirty white with very few marks of brown (2.35 × 1.85). Their nesting season ranges from as early as February to July.

Range.—Not uncommon on the Gulf coast of Texas and in the lower Rio Grande Valley, southwards into South America.

SWAINSON HAWK 342. Buteo swainsoni. 20 in.

This species has the greatest variety of plumages of any of our hawks. It has only three outer primaries notched near the tips, while the two last species, which are the only ones that can be confused with it, have four. Adults in the light phase have a band of rich chestnut across the breast. Adults in the dark phase are uniform blackish-brown, with some rusty edgings and with thighs more or less rusty. Young birds are buffy below, with elongated blackish spots. Its harmless character can be understood from the fact that it is no unusual sight to find other birds, such as Arkansas Kingbird and Bullock Oriole, nesting in the same tree; and the first mentioned species goes even further than this, sometimes constructing its home in the sides of the nests of the hawks.

Nest.—Of sticks and twigs, either in trees or on the ground on rocky ledges; eggs white, spotted with brown (2.20 × 1.70).

Range.—Western N. A., breeding from Texas to the Arctic regions; east to Illinois and west to the Pacific.

BROAD-WINGED HAWK 343. Buteo platypterus. 16 in.

Adults grayish-brown above; below, streaked on the throat and breast, and barred below, with rusty-brown; tail with three blackish bars. Young similar above; below white, streaked with blackish-brown. They are most apt to be confused with the Cooper and Red-Shouldered Hawk, but when in flight, it can usually be distinguished at a distance, from the former by its shorter tail, and from the latter by its smaller size and rounded wings. They may be classed as abundant east of the Great Plains. They are rather solitary in their habits, especially during the breeding season, when but one pair is usually found in a piece of woods.

Notes.—A long, squeaking wail, sounding much like two branches rubbing together and creaking.

Nest.—Of sticks, invariably lined with pieces of bark; usually placed in crotches next to the trunks of large trees, but not usually at a great height; eggs whitish, more or less blotched with brown and gray.

Range.—Breeds north to New Brunswick and Manitoba; winters in southern half of the United States.

AMERICAN ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK 347a. Archibuteo lagopus sancti-johannis. 22 in.

Legs feathered to the toes. Adults blackish on the back and belly; head and breast, more or less grayish-white, streaked with dusky; tail white, barred on the end with black; eyes brown. In the dark phase they are blackish-brown, more or less mixed with rusty. This large, heavily-built species is found in the United States, only in winter; it frequents thinly wooded districts or meadows, where it catches its prey, which consists of small rodents, insects and reptiles. It is very irregular in its appearance, especially in the east, but it is most often found near the coast. It is a sluggish species and I doubt if it does any harm to wild birds or to poultry; it certainly does a great deal of good.

Nest.—Of sticks, on rocky ledges; eggs bluish-white, boldly splashed with brown (1.90 × 1.55).

Range.—Breeds north of the United States border; winters in northern United States.

FERRUGINOUS ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK 348. Archibuteo ferrugineus. 23 in.

Legs feathered to the toes. Adults with back, shoulders, thighs and legs, rusty, barred or streaked with black; tail grayish-white, tinged with rusty. Young birds are brownish-black, above and without any rusty below. In the dark phase they are sooty-brown, more or less varied with rusty, and the tail is the same as in the light plumage. Their bill is larger and tail longer than that of the last species. A fairly abundant hawk on the plains and prairies west of the Miss., usually not at a great distance from water.

Nest.—Usually on the ground on bluffs or rocky ledges, but sometimes in trees; made of sticks and weeds; sometimes used year after year, and then becoming bulky, as it is added to each year; eggs white, handsomely spotted and blotched with blackish-brown, very variable.

Range.—Breeds west of the Miss., from Kansas, locally, and the Dakotas, abundantly, north to Saskatchewan. Winters south to Mexico.

GOLDEN EAGLE 349. Aquila chryœtos. 35 in.