BROAD-WINGED HAWK 143 



his experience he has never seen it attack a fowl 

 nor has he found the remains of one in the stomachs 

 examined. He writes: "This Hawk, Hke most other 

 birds of prey, makes a very interesting pet, and on 

 account of its varied food is easy to keep. Appar- 

 ently it is less shy than the Red-tail, nevertheless under 

 ordinary circumstances it will not allow a man on 

 foot to approach within gunshot. Like other Hawks, 

 it shows no fear for one on horse-back or in a wagon, 

 and in this way can be easily approached. Bottom 

 lands grown up with large deciduous trees, or the 

 neighboring hill-sides, are the favorite nesting-sites of 

 this bird. The nest is placed in one of the large 

 trees, forty to eighty feet from the ground, and usually 

 in the fork where the main branches diverge from the 

 trunk. A pair will inhabit the same locality for years 

 and often occupy a nest for several seasons." 



Broad-winged Hawk: Bntco platypicnis. 



Length i6 inches. 



Upper parts dark brown, darker on the back; tail blackish 

 with broad bands of gray or brownish-white. 



Under parts reddish-brown, broken by white transverse 

 spotting. 



The food of this Hawk consists principally of in- 

 sects, small mammals, reptiles and batrachians, and 

 occasionally of young or disabled birds. 



" During the summer the Broad-winged Hawk 

 often may be seen sitting for hours on the dead top 

 of some high tree. At other times it is found on the 

 smaller trees in the deep woods, along streams, or on 

 the ground, where its food is more often procured. 

 Although sluggish and unusually heavy in its flight, 

 it Is capable of rapid motion and sometimes soars high 



