46 BIRDS OF PREY. 



HARRIS'S HAWK. 



PAR.A.BUTEO UNICINCTUS HARRISI. 



Char. Prevailing color black, sometimes chocolate brown, tinged with 

 chestnut on the rump ; shoulders and lining of wings chestnut ; tail-coverts, 

 base of tail, and terminal band, white. Length about 20 inches. 



N'est. On a cliff or in a tree, — usually the latter; a mere platform of 

 twigs and roots, lined with grass. 



^SS^- 2-5 (usually 3^ ; white, tinged with yellow, sometimes marked 

 with brown or lavender, or both , 2.15 X 1.65. 



Harris's Hawk is abundant in parts of Texas and in Mexico, 

 and occurs in small numbers in the southern part of Mississippi. 

 It is usually represented as a rather sluggish bird, associating with 

 the Vultures and joining in their feasts of carrion, but sometimes 

 preying upon the small reptiles that infest the banks of streams 

 and pools. Mr. Bennett, however, describes those he saw along 

 the lower Rio Grande as more active, feeding chiefly on birds, 

 mice, and gophers. 



RED-TAILED HAWK. 



BUTEO BOREALIS. 



Char. Above, dull brown streaked with rufous and grayish ; below, 

 whitish or tawny streaked with brown ; tail chestnut above and gray 

 beneath, with a band of black near the end and tipped with white. In 

 the young the tail is grayish brown crossed by some nine dark bars, 

 and the underparts are white with brown streaks. Length 19^ to 23 

 inches. 



Nest. In a high tree; of sticks, lined with grass, sometimes with 

 feathers. 



Eggs. 2-4 ; whitish or bluish white, usually heavily spotted or blotched 

 with reddish brown; 2 30 X 1.80. 



This beautiful Buzzard inhabits most parts of the United 

 States, being observed from Canada to Florida; also, far 

 westward up the Missouri, and even on the coasts of the 

 northern Pacific Ocean, by Lewis and Clarke. Wilson found 

 the young to be fully grown in the month of May, about 

 latitude 31° on the banks of the Mississippi; at this period 

 they were very noisy and clamorous, keeping up an inces- 

 sant squealing. It also occasionally nests and breeds in large 



