EASTERN RED-TAILED HAWK 157 



found three and four mice in the viscera of one bird, oftentimes five, 

 and in a few instances as many as seven of these destructive little 

 rodents were obtained from the crop and stomach of one hawk." 



Dr. George M. Sutton (1928) reports on the stomach contents of 

 32 redtails, taken in Pennsylvania in October, as follows : 



Twelve stomachs were empty ; iu the twenty stomachs which held food were 

 eleven Field Mice, four Short-tailed Shrews, three Red-backed Mice, three Chip- 

 munlvs, three small Garter Snakes, two Red Squirrels, one Winter Wren, one 

 Song Sparrow, one Hermit Thrush, one Gray Squirrel, one Brown Rat, one 

 half-grown White Leghorn Chicken, one large grasshopper, two crickets, and 

 one large beetle of the family Elateridae. Such an array of food items in only 

 twenty-two stomachs is noteworthy. Only seven of these stomachs held but one 

 item ; the others had a variety in each. If the above stomach contents are at 

 all normal the red-tail captures about five harmful or unimportant organisms 

 to one economically valuable one. 



The following mammals have been detected in the food of this 

 hawk : House mice and various species of field and wood mice, rats, 

 various squirrels, both arboreal and ground species, raccoons, goph- 

 ers, prairie dog, spermophiles, woodchuck, rabbits, moles, bats, 

 shrews, chipmunks, muskrat, porcupine, weasles, and skunks; as 

 many as nine red squirrels have been found in a nest at one time. 

 The following interesting account of a redtail attacking a cat is 

 published by E. D. Nauman (1929) : 



A large Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo horealis borealis) came out of the timber 

 and leisurely flew around over the meadow, hovering over one point a moment 

 for special inspection. Then he flew back to the woods again. A few minutes 

 later he flew out and hovered over the same place, then returned to the woods 

 as before. After having performed this round trip movement several times, the 

 Hawk finally flew to this point and plunged down into the meadow. Instantly 

 there was a mighty commotion. Hissing, flopping, spitting, caterwauling; and 

 one could see feet, claws, wings and tails whirling about just over the grass. 

 The air was full of fur and feathers for a few moments, then the Hawk made 

 his getaway, and with feathers much ruffled flew for the timber as fast as his 

 wings could carry him. And an old gray torn cat went with great bounds in 

 equal haste for the farm buildings! Both Tommy and hawk were licked but 

 still able to go. 



The bird list includes domestic poultry, young turkey, pintail, 

 teals, and other wild ducks, gallinules, rails, pheasants, ruffed grouse, 

 Hungarian partridge, various quails, doves, screech owl, kingfisher, 

 woodpeckers, crow, starling, grackles, meadowlark, horned larks, 

 orioles, various sparrows, juncos, thrushes, robin, and bluebird. 

 Verdi Burtch (1927) found a freshly killed red-shouldered hawk 

 and later saw a red-tailed hawk feeding on it. Lucy V. Baxter 

 (1906) surprised an adult red-tailed hawk feeding on a freshly killed 

 immature hawk of its own species. Probably most of the small 

 birds are killed during the nesting season as food for the small 

 young, though the young hawks are fed largely on mice and squir- 



