EAGLES, HAWKS, AND KITES 



75 



possibly for life. Tlic ymiiis,' and ])arciUs often 

 remain together throughout the autumn. 



The Florida l\ed-shou!<lered llauk (Ihitcu 

 lincatus allriii) liit'fers from the common Red- 

 shouldcre<l llawk only in size, heing much 

 smaller; its range is restricted to the south 

 Atlantic and (nilf States, from South Carolina 

 through Texas into Mexico. 



The entire under parts of the Red-bellied 

 Hawk (Biitco lincatits clccjans) are sometimes 

 rich dark reddish, almost elTacing the usual 

 markings, hut ty])ical specimens have a ruddy- 

 colored breast, this color fading into lighter on 

 the abdomen ; the wings and tail are barred with 



white as in the Red-shouldered. This form 

 occurs frfjm the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific 

 and from I'.ritish Columbia south to Lower Cali- 

 fornia and Mexico. 



The Red-shouldered Hawks arc very valuable 

 to the farmer. They are more nearly omnivorous 

 than most of our birds of prey, and are known 

 to feed on mice, birds, snakes, frogs, fish, grass- 

 ho]3pcrs. centipedes, spiders, crawfish, earth- 

 worms, and snails. About 90 per cent, of their 

 food consists of injurious mammals and insects, 

 and hardly i J/2 i)er cent, of ])oultry and game. 

 It is folly to destroy this valuable bird, and every- 

 where it should be fostered and protected. 



ZONE-TAILED HAWK 

 Buteo abbreviatus Cabanis 



A. <>. V. Number 340 



Description. — Length: male, 19 inches; female. Ji 

 inches. Spread of wings. 47 to 53 inches. 



Color. — -.-Xdults: Entire body, a uniform glossy 

 coal-black; viewed from above the tail i'.; black, nar- 

 rowly lifted li'ith ivhitc and crossed ivith three bands 

 of slate color increasing in width and distinctness from 

 front to rear, and narrowly tipjied with white; viewed 

 from below, three pure white zones appear, since the 

 ashy is on outer webs only, with white on inner web; 

 wings when folded quite black, but inner webs hasally 

 marked with light and dark bars and spotted with 

 white ; feet, yellowish ; bill, dark blackish-horn. Young : 

 Similar to adults but the snowy white bases of the 

 feathers, especially on head and neck, more inclined 



to show through ; tail banded with more numerous and 

 less regular bars with the inner webs of the feathers 

 mostly white. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: From 15 to 50 feet from 

 ground on the horizontal branches of tall cottonwoods. 

 ash. sycamores, bo.x elders, or cypress trees, along 

 borders of streams ; constructed of coarse sticks and 

 twigs and lined with leaves or Spanish moss. Eggs : 

 2 to 4. dull white, spotted or blotched with warm chest- 

 nut or umber-brown, chiefly at large end. 



Distribution. — Southern Arizona, southern New 

 Mexico, and southwestern Texas, south through Mexico 

 and Central America to Venezuela and British Guiana; 

 casual in southern California. 



Little is known of the life history of the Zone- 

 tailed Hawk. Its favorite haunts are banks of 

 streams, and it builds its nest and lives among the 

 cottonwoods. In Texas and New Mexico, these 

 wanderers from Mexico are said to freciuent 



canons and to dive down the perpendicular sides, 

 like Clarke's Nutcracker, almost to the stream at 

 the bottom. It is a lightly-built bird. Its food 

 consists of small mammals, lizards, frogs, and 

 l)eetles, grasshoppers, and other insects. 



Other Names. — Brown Hawk 

 Hawk. 



Description. — Length ; male. 20 inches ; female. 22 

 inches. Spread of wings. 50 to 56 inches. Three outer 

 primaries notched on inner webs. 



Color. — Every possible gradation of coloration be- 

 tween the normal and melanistic phases is exhibited by 

 different individuals. Adi'lt M.\i.e in Normal Plum- 

 age: .^bove. grayish-brown; tail tinged with hoary and 

 with about 9 or 10 dusky bands; forehead, chin, and 

 throat, white; chest, broadly bright chestnut with black 

 shaft lines; rest of under parts, whitish usually barred 

 and spotted with brown ; iris, brown ; feet and cere, 

 yellow; bill and claws, bluish-black. Adult Female in 

 Normal Plumage: Chest, grayish-brown; otherwise 

 like male. Darker or Melanistic Phase (both 

 sexes): Entire plumage sooty-brown. Young: Entire 



SWAINSON'S HAWK 

 Buteo swainsoni Bonaparte 



\. O I'. Xuinber 342 

 Black Hawk; Hen upper parts, dark brown, each feather tawny-edged; 

 head. neck, and under parts, buff or huffy white ; wings 

 and tail, barred with darker brown. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest : Placed almost anywhere 

 — on the ground, in bushes, or on ledges — but gen- 

 erally it is placed in the tallest trees toward the end of 

 horizontal branches ; constructed of small branches and 

 twigs, and lined with a few leaves, moss, or feathers ; 

 sometimes old nests are rehabilitated. Eggs : 2 to 4, 

 normally 2. white, greenish-white, or huffy-white, usu- 

 ally spotted or blotched with reddish-brown ; some- 

 times unmarked. 



Distribution. — North and South America ; breeds 

 from southern British Columbia. Fort Yukon. Alaska, 

 northwestern Mackenzie, and Manitoba south to Chile; 

 casual in Quebec. Ontario. Maine, and Massachusetts ; 

 winters from South Dakota southward. 



