50 RED-TAILED BUZZARD— HEN HAWK. 



am inclined to believe is done for the purpose of obtaining the 

 young of sparrows, larks, and such other birds as nest on the 

 ground, but this fact I have not yet actLially verified ; as the 

 bird is said to prey largely upon field mice, snakes and frogs — 

 which are abundant in meadows — the pursuit and capture of these 

 may lead it to frequent such situations. I have never myself 

 observed or heard of an instance of its capturing snakes in 

 Canada, but this fact has been recorded of it by several American 

 writers. One of these is given by Dr. Wood of Massachusetts 

 in the " American Naturalist," in referring to the winter habits 

 of the Red-tail in Massachusetts. This writer says : " A farmer 

 living in this vicinity, while putting up a fence around his pasture, 

 noticed a large Hawk on the ground some forty rods from him, 

 sometimes rising up to two or three feet, then dropping down. 

 Supposing him to be devouring some game he paid but little 

 attention to it at first, but from its continuing in the same place 

 and keeping up the same manctuvring for a long time his curiosity 

 was excited, and coming nearer the bird he discovered that the 

 tail of a large black snake was coiled around the hawk's nec^, 

 and that the head and a part of its body was in a hole in the 

 ground ; the hawk was nearly exhausted. With a blow of his axe 

 the farmer severed the snake, and brought the hawk to his barn, 

 where he kept him alive lor some time. The part of the snake 

 attached to the bird measured three feet, which was probably 

 about one half of its length. The hawk evidently seized the 

 snake when he was partly in his hole and was unable to draw 

 him out, and when found the serpent was endeavoring to convince 

 his would-be-capturer that ' it is a poor rule that don't work 

 both ways.' This was the adult Red-tailed Hawk." 



This bird is only a summer visitant in Canada, and is 

 never seen during the winter. At this season, however, it is very 

 adundant throughout the New England States, where it preys on 

 the " wild game of the woods," and occasionally makes raids upon 

 the poultry-yard. Mr. William Brewster of Cambridge, IVIass. in 

 an exceedingly interesting article in " Forest and Stream," en- 

 titled " Winter habits of Buzzard Hawks," gives some further 



