EAGLES, HAWKS, AND KITES 



79 



ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK 

 Archibuteo lagopus sancti-johannis {Ui>icli>i} 



A. O. U. XumbcT 3.1-a Sec Color I'latcs 4,i. 4s 



Other Names. — American Rough-lcKKcd Hawk; 

 Kdiinhlcu; Riiugh-legKtd Buzzard; Hlack Hawk; 

 iMimsc Hauk. 



General Description. - I.fiigtli : male, jo inches; 

 female-, J_> inches. .MhiuI the size ot the Red-tailed 

 Hawk, but nuicli lighter huilt and with more slender feet 

 and longer, more pointed wings ; four outer primaries 

 deeply notched on inner webs ; feathers of icijs cxlciid- 

 111(1 to the toes. 



Color. — Intermediate stages betw een normal and 

 melanistic plumages are common. .Adults ( Nok.mai. 

 Coi.oK.MioN ) : Upper parts, grayish-brown, margined 

 with whitish and huffy ; wings and tail barred with gray 

 aiul whitish; inner webs of primaries and under sur- 

 faces of wing-feathers, white toward their bases; tips 

 of wings and patch on middle under wing-coverts, 

 black ; under parts, white or bulTy, spotted and streaked 

 with blackish, forming a dark band across the abdomen. 

 YouNc;: Knd portion of tail, plain grayish-brown 

 except for white tip ; under parts more heavily marked 

 with hlack. the band across abdomen, broad and 



unbroken ; otherwise similar to adults. Dark oh 

 .Melanistic Phase (co.m.mon to all ages and to both 

 SEXES) : Uniform sooty-black, except base of tail and 

 a portion of the bases of the wing-feathers which are 

 white. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest : Usually placed in large 

 trees but sometimes on ledges; a large bulky structure 

 of interlaced sticks, grasses, and weeds and lined with 

 small twigs, liner grasses, and other fibrous vegetable 

 material, well felted together. Egcs : 2 to 5, usually 

 _' or 3 varying from dingy to buffy-white and sprinkled 

 with l)lotchcs of dark brown. 



Distribution. — North America north of Mexico; 

 breeds from the Aleutian Islands, northwestern Alaska. 

 .Arctic coast, and northern Ungava, south to central 

 British Columbia. southern Mackenzie, southern 

 Ungava. and Newfoundland; winters from Oregon, 

 Colorado, Minnesota, and the northern boundary of 

 eastern United States, south to central California, 

 southern New Me.xico, Texas, Louisiana, and North 

 Carolina. 



The Rough-legged Hawk breeds in Alaska and 

 Canada and is but a winter migrant to the States. 

 Its favorite haunts are in u])en meadows or in 

 couiUry covered with scrub and brush. It is the 

 nearest to nocturnal of all our Hawks. Its plum- 

 age is soft and fluffy, its flight noiseless, and, 

 when observed in the twilight sweeping quietly 

 over the open spaces where held mice abound, it 

 is easily mistaken for an Owl. When mice are 

 abundant one or two Rough-legs will hunt for 

 weeks in the vicinity, eft"cctually controlling these 

 pests and saving many fruit trees, especially the 

 young ones, from destruction. While watching 

 for rabbits on moonlit nights 1 have more than 

 once been startled by the sudden appearance of 

 a dark form swooping noiselessly down on a 

 luckless mouse playing on the snow crust. A 

 swift dash — a tiny squeak — then the quick 

 disappearance of captor and victim into the 

 shadows. 



The Ferruginous Rough-leg (Archibuteo fcr- 

 rugincus) is quite similar in its habits to the 

 common Rough-leg. The adults have the top. 

 back, and sides of head streaked equally with 

 blackish and white; rest of (he upper parts, 

 blackish and chestnut in about equal amounts ; 

 the tail silvery ash tinged with rufous and with 

 white tip and base ; the under parts, pure white 

 from bill to end of tail ; and legs, chestnut barred 

 with black. It breeds from southern Washing- 



ton, southwestern Saskatchewan, and southern 

 Manitoba to southern California, Utah, Colo- 

 rado, and Kansas, and winters from Montana to 

 Lower California and northern Mexico. The 

 Ferruginous Rough-leg is rarely found east of 

 the Mississippi. 



Of the value to man of these two species. Dr. 

 A. K. Fisher says : " The Rough-legged Hawk 

 and the Ferruginous Rough-leg, or Squirrel 

 Hawk, as it is sometimes called on account of its 

 fondness for ground squirrels, so destructive in 

 the West, are among our largest and most bene- 

 ficial Hawks. The winter range of the Rough- 

 leg is determined more by the fall of snow than 

 by the intensity of cold, the main body advancing 

 and retreating as the barrier of snow melts or 

 accumulates. 



" Meadow mice and lemmings form the staple 

 food of this bird. In this country lemmings do 

 not reach our territory except in .'\laska, but in 

 the north of Europe they occasionally form into 

 vast, migrating devastating hordes which carry 

 destruction to crops in the country invaded. The 

 vole, or meadow mouse, is common in many parts 

 of this country, and east of the Mississippi River 

 without doubt is the most destructive mammal 

 to agriculture. It destroys meadows by tunnel- 

 ing under thetn and eating the roots of grass. 

 This mouse also destroys grain and various 

 kinds of vegetables, especially tubers, but prob- 



