378 LAND-BIRDS. 



and with a few dark markings. (10) Dirty white, faintly 

 blotched all over, but with a few chocolate spots. (11) Dirty 

 white, blotched faintly with purplish and reddish brown, but 

 with dark blotches on the crown. (12) Impure white, 

 with a ring of reddish brown blotches about the crown. 

 Some specimens have reddish or buffy ground colors, and 

 others are marked but little and faintly, or with a few isolated 

 blotches. 



There is no salient point of difference * between their eggs 

 and those of the " Red-tail," of which several are now before 

 me. 



c. The Red-shouldered Buzzards, so far as I have observed, 

 are the commonest Hawks near Boston, where they are resi- 

 dent throughout the year. They breed from Florida f nearly 

 to Hudson Bay. Their range is therefore much less exten- 

 sive than that of the "Red-tails," but their habits and man- 

 ners are very similar. The following biography is applicable 

 partly to both species, sometimes to one more than another, 

 but it may be remarked that the " Red-tail " is more robust, 

 spirited, and majestic. 



The " Hen Hawks," and their immediate relations, are best 

 characterized by their flight and mode of hunting. Some- 

 times, propelled by an occasional and slight motion of the 

 wings, they sail in circles to a gTeat height, and, if favored 

 by a breeze, even rise until lost to sight, without any percep- 

 tible exercise of muscular power. Again, they often circle 

 without ascending, though at a considerable distance from the 

 ground. Thus the range of their vision is much extended, 

 while the keenness of their sight enables them to detect the 

 motion of a squirrel in the trees, or of birds and snakes in the 

 open lands over which they more often fly. On perceiving 

 the object of their search, closing their wings and tail, they 

 fall with a loud rustle until near the earth, when, checking 

 their speed, they drop unawares upon their victim. Should 



* As a rule the egg-s of the Red- t The Florida bird is now regarded 



tailed Hawk are larger and less heav- as a distinct subspecies, which is called 



ily marked than those of the Red- Buteo lineatus alleni. — W. B. 

 shouldered Hawk. — W. B. 



