FALCONID^. BUTEO LINEATUS. 29 



stricted to the Middle States, and says that it is never found in Massachusetts. 

 This is quite a mistake. It is not only not uncommon in that State, but has been 

 ascertained to breed there, and is also found abundantly throughout the year. It 

 also undoubtedly breeds still farther to the north, as young birds visit the vicinity of 

 Boston at certain seasons, evidently from a more northern quarter. According to the 

 late Rev. Zadock Thompson, of Burlington, whose authority is unquestionable, it breeds 

 throughout Vermont. It is therefore quite probable that this Hawk may be found 

 in every part of the United States, 1 except where it is replaced by the Western variety, 

 Buteo elegans. It has been observed in Oregon. Dr. Gambel speaks of it as " com- 

 mon," and Dr. Heermann as " abundant," in California ; but it is quite probable they 

 referred to a bird now considered a distinct species. It breeds abundantly through- 

 out South Carolina, where, I am assured by Eev. Dr. Bachman, of Charleston, it 

 is much the most common Hawk, and it is equally frequent throughout Florida. 

 It is not given by Dr. Gundlach as a bird of Cuba, nor by Mr. Gosse as a bird 

 of Jamaica. It was not met with by Sir John Richardson in the Arctic regions. 

 Vermont and Oregon, or about latitude 45, appear to be the most northern limits 

 to which it has been positively traced. 2 



This Hawk constructs a large nest, resembling that of the Crow, in the forked 

 branches of a high tree. It is composed externally of sticks, and is lined with moss 

 and soft leaves. The eggs are four in number, occasionally three or two. When 

 the nest is approached, the bird litters loud, frequent, and pecidiar cries of alarm 

 and resentment, not unlike Kee-oo ! rapidly repeated, but makes no attempt at resist- 

 ance. They will return year after year to the same nest, even when it has been robbed 

 the previous season. 



The eggs of this bird vary remarkably in size and ground color, and also in the 

 frequency of the secondary markings. In the shape of the eggs and the color of 

 the markings there is no essential variation that I am aware of. Their difference in 

 length is sometimes as great as one fifth of an inch, and in breadth one sixth of an 

 inch. I have in my possession the copy of a drawing by Mr. Audubon, of what must 

 be a not very common variety ; at least I have never met with the light blue of 

 the ground there represented, and which is also spoken of by Mr. Thompson, in his 



and the immature plumage of this bird. He even went so far as to assign to these supposed distinct spe- 

 cies very different habits, cries, and geographical distribution. The mature bird (lineatus) is represented 

 as a Southern species, stopped by the Middle States ; the immature (hyemalis), as a Northern bird, visiting 

 the United States only in winter. Even in his later work, in which he recognizes their identity, he per- 

 sists in still assigning them certain imaginary diversities. Sir William Jardine, in some notes to his 

 edition of Wilson's Ornithology, goes a step farther in error, and makes these imaginary differences of 

 habit not only specific, but generic, allying the hyemalis with the Harriers (Circi), and the lineatus with 

 the Asturs ! 



1 Mr. Cassin (Proceedings of Philadelphia Academy, Feb. 1855, p. 281) describes as a distinct species 

 B. elegans, the variety which has probably been taken, on the Western coast, for the Red-shouldered 

 Hawk of the Eastern States. 



" Since the above was written, I have seen a list of the birds of Nova Scotia, prepared by Lieutenant 

 Bland (Royal Engineers), in which I am not surprised to find Buteo lineatus marked as a common and 

 migratory species in that Province. 



