THE BROAD-WINGED HAWK. 409 



in the amount of pigmentation. It is time, however, to call a halt upon the 

 indiscriminate gathering of Hawks' eggs. The museums are loaded down 

 with them, and nine-tenths of those which are annually levied upon in the 

 name of boyish curiosity are destined to find their way into mouse nests or 

 discarded boxes of sawdust. In spite of its occasional pilfering, the Red- 

 shouldered Hawk is a very useful bird, and should receive rigid protection 

 at the hands of every farmer. 



No. 183. 



BROAD-WINGED HAWK. 



A. O. U. No. 343. Buteo platypterus (Vieill.). 



Synonym. — Broad-winged Bi xxakd. 



Description. — Adult: Above sooty brown and fuscous, with much ill-con- 

 cealed or hidden white on head, hind neck, wing-coverts, and inner margin of 

 wings ; some ochraceous margining of feathers, but less than in the two preced- 

 ing species ; wing-quills plain-colored externally ; primaries blackening on tips, 

 broadly white on inner webs; the three outer primaries deeply emarginate; tail 

 black with two decided white or light gray bars, beside narrow terminal gray 

 and basal white; cheeks finely streaked with dusky and fulvous on whitish ground; 

 throat white narrowly streaked with blackish; remaining under parts whitish or 

 pale fulvous, heavily and widely barred and streaked with yellowish brown 

 or dusky ochraceous; sometimes nearly solid colored on breast: lower belly and 

 crissum nearly immaculate; shanks sparingly fine-barred; axillars barred, but 

 under surface of wing nearly white, black-tipped; bill dark, or yellow-spotted 

 below; feet yellow; claws black. Immature: Like adult, but tail grayish brown 

 crossed by five to seven narrow dusky bands; under parts white or huffy, 

 streaked and spotted with dusky; longitudinal pattern more distinct than in 

 adult. \dult male length about 14.00-10.00 (355.6-406.4); wing about 10.50 

 (.2667); tail about 6.75 ( 171.5) ; culmen from cere .75 (19.1); tarsus 2.50 

 (63.5). Female from two to three inches longer and proportioned accordingly. 



Recognition Marks. — Typical Crow size; the white under surface of wing, 

 with black primary tips, affords quickest field recognition mark; wings rounded; 

 bird shorter and more compact in build than Accipiter cooperii, with which it is 

 most likely to be confused. 



Nest, of sticks, in trees; often a deserted Crow's nest. Eggs, 2-4. huffy 

 white, spotted and blotched with reddish brown or ochraceous. Av. size, 2.00 x 

 1.58 (50.8 x 40.1). 



General Range. — Eastern North America from New Brunswick and the 

 Saskatchewan region to Texas and Mexico, and thence southward to northern 

 South America and the West Indies. Breeds throughout its United States range. 



Range in Ohio. — Not common summer resident. 



