200 BROAD-WINGED HAWK. 



the limb of a, large elm directly over the roail. It did not appear to pay the slightest at- 

 tention to me, for it allowed me to approach very near it and just as I was passing beneath 

 the tree, it l.iunched into air, llcvv over me, darted into a, brush heap on the opposite side 

 of tlie way, and, taking a few quick turns, em-erged bearing a Brown Thrush in its tahms. 

 It flew a short distance with its prey and, alighting on a small tree near, coolly began to 

 devour it. This, I say, was my first acquaintance with the species and the peculiarities 

 displayed by this individual, I have since found to be characteristic of the Broad-wingdl 

 Hawks wherever they occur. They seldom hunt by circling in air, like the Red-shoul- 

 dered and other allied species, but pounce upon their prey from some elevation, or hawk 

 about, close to the thickets. They are also more agile than the species just mentioned 

 and are much tamer; indeed, it would be difficult to find Hawks more unsuspicious and 

 the following instances, with the one rehited, will illustnite this trait. I was searching 

 for birds ou Key West one day and when crossing a clearing, I observed a, small Ilawk 

 perched on a tree not far away. As I approached, it darted downward and disappeared 

 behind a lai-ge hedge of oleanders, then in full bloom. I cautiously made my way among 

 the shrubbery until I re;iched the opposite side, then I carefully examined the bushes and 

 adjacent ground in search of the ILiwk. but not seeing it, concluded that it had escaped, 

 so stepped carelessly out into the open; and was proceeding on my way, when, glancing 

 downward almost at my feet, I was astonished to see the Hawk quietly engaged in eating 

 a mouse that it had captured in a bunch of weeds near. I was obliged to make a move- 

 ment with my gun in order to jnake the b'.rd rise, when I shot it. Last summer, when in 

 company with the Bangs Brothers at Tyngsborough, I noticed a small Ilawk perched (ni 

 top of a dead stub in a wood. While i was endeavoring to obtain a shot, it Hew a short 

 distance, alighting in a spot where I could not see it, but I continued to walk in the di- 

 rection that it took and, after going as far as I thought it had flown, stopped to examine- 

 the branches of the trees, when I was surprised to see the object of my search, sitting ou 

 a low lini!) a few yards away, gazing quietly at me. 



The Broad-winged Hawks breed a little lafer than members of the same genus, nest- 

 ing about the first week in May in New England, usually choosing pines in which to build 

 their domiciles. The young appear in due course and accompany their parents for a short 

 time, afier winch they learn to hunt for themstdves. Like most Hawks, these birds moult 

 in August, and iu October, migrate southward. 



GENUS II. ARCIIIBUTEO. THE FEATHER-LEGGED HAWKS. 



Gen. Cn. Sfrrinim, ratltcr wide and short, heiny much wider than it is hiyh, including the lieel. Tarsus, feathered 

 to the toes in front. 



The sterno-trachcalis varies in t'.ik'kne-!s and there is a saiallbronohialis, but no other laryngeal muscles. The tracliea 

 i« a little flattened throughout. The oesophagus is dilated near the middle into quite a large crep, and the walW are very- 

 thin. Th.e pr.iventriculus is rather large, with quite small, simple, oval gl.ands, arranged in a zonular band -which meas- 

 ures from I'CO to 1-25 in width. The stomach is somewhat globular in form, with very thin walls, lined with a soft mem- 

 brane. The f)ld of the duodenum is long, inehising a .small, irregularly formed pancreas which only occupies a short por- 

 tion of its entire length. The ereca are very small. Both lobes of the liver are aljout equal in size, and the heart is large- 

 and pointed. The .spleen is an oval shaped h.rly situated on the proventriculus. There is but oaespjci.sf i:rad within our. 

 limits. 



