Bed-Tailed Hawk. 255 



EED-TAILED HAWK. 



None of the hawks has suffered more undeserved per- 

 secution than has the red-tailed buzzard or hawk, whose 

 characteristics place it among the ignoble falcons, or 

 hawks, of feudal times. Lacking the swiftness and im- 

 petuosity of attack peculiar to the true falcons, it depends 

 on its ability to surprise its prey and drop upon it when 

 unable to escape. Its robust frame, dignified carriage, 

 and power of sustained flight, render it little inferior to 

 the lordly eagle himself, except in size and strength. 

 Indeed, in refinement of manner and in general habits, it 

 is far more worthy to symbolize our republic than the 

 piratical and indiscriminating eagle. Being a permanent 

 resident, it is at all times to be found in suitable localities. 

 It is the winter hawk of this section. How happily has 

 it been entitled borealis ! When the boreal breath has 

 overspread the face of nature with snow and ice, this 

 buzzard hawk of the north demonstrates its right to its 

 specific title by floating calmly in the upper height, or 

 sitting unaffected by the searching wind. The coldest 

 days of January serve to give this hawk a keener eye 

 and a deeper zest for the chase. On a sharp morning in 

 winter, when the mercury was standing at twenty degrees 

 below zero, I saw a noble individual of this species sitting 

 motionless in the top of a solitary cottonwood in the mid- 

 dle of a snow-covered pasture, quietly surveying the sub- 

 jacent fields for venturesome rabbits and quail. Through 

 the winter its attachment to particular trees is noticeable, 

 and iQ these trees it can usually be seen when it is not 

 sailing above the tree-tops and fields in wide circles. As 

 a usual thing it does not sit in the summit of a tree, but 

 generally chooses a perch in one side the tree about 

 two-thirds the height of the branching portion, always, 

 however, in a favorable position to view its surroundings. 



On the genial days of early spring these hawks at- 

 tract special attention, the greater activity of their usual 

 quarry inducing them to discover more boldness and 

 familiarity. The individuals which have migrated further 

 south for the winter are then returning and supplement 



