142 RED-SHOULDERED HAWK. 



Red-tailed Hawk: Biiteo borealis. 



Length about 2 feet. 



Upper parts very dark brown marked with reddish-brown 

 and whitish; tail in adults rusty red with black band near 

 the end, and white tip. 



Under parts white tinged with bnffy; belly streaked with 

 brown. 



Common in winter, rare in summer. 



The Red-tailed is the Hawk most frequently seen 

 in winter circling high over open ground. He eats 

 mice, rats and other small mammals. Dr. Fisher 

 says 'that on the new land of the Potomac flats a rank 

 vegetation has grown up wdiich gives shelter and sus- 

 tenance to hordes of mice, and " in winter and early 

 spring it is not uncommon to see ten or fifteen Red- 

 tailed Hawks in different parts of this flat attracted 

 hither by the abundance of their natural food." In 

 migration he has seen a flock of sixty-five Red-tails 

 passing southward in large sweeping circles. He also 

 says that w^ien taken young this Hawk soon becomes 

 reconciled to captivity and makes a gentle and inter- 

 esting pet. The nest is generally in a high tree from 

 forty to seventy feet up. The eggs, 2 to 4, are dull 

 white lightly marked with brown. 



Red-shouldered Hawk: Btiteo lineatus. 



Length about 18 inches. 



Upper parts dark brown with a reddish cast; shoulders 

 rusty red; tail black, with white bars and a white tip. 

 Under parts reddish-brown barred with white. 

 Resident (common) all the year. 



The Red-shouldered . Hawk receives only praise 

 from those who know its habits. Sixty-five per cent 

 of its food is mice, and the rest various small mam- 

 mals, frogs, fish and insects. Dr. Fisher says that in 



