185 



for small (juadiiiiu'ds and baclrat-hiaiis, wliicl\ consti 

 tute its principal fare. Young birds, which arc 

 known to many as \Vinter Falcons, are, according to 

 my experience, 'nnicli inori' frcqiicntly met with than 

 full idnmaged adults. 



THE NEST -VND FAUIH. 



Like other birds of this genus, the Red shouldered 

 Hawk nests in trees, usually in .\|nil and May in this 

 locality. The eggs, l\\<i in four in number, ai'e very 

 similar to those of the Red-tail, hut smaller. 



■"J'he nest cIosel>' resembles that of the crow, except that it 

 is larger and lacks the compact and neat appearance common 

 to the nc-s^t oi" the latter bird. It is composed of coarse 

 sticks loosely placed together with finer ones toward the cen- 

 tral cavity, which is lined with the bark of the grape vine and 

 other fibres, or, m snnR- cases, with pieces of the rough outer 

 bark of the oak and hickory, and not uncommonly, as with 

 many of the other birds of prey, green twigs with leaves at- 

 tached are used. 



"Bottom lands grown up with large deciduous trees, or the 

 neighboring hillsides, are the favorite nesting sites of this 

 bird. The nest is placed in one of the larger trees -10 to SO 

 feet from the ground, and usually in the fork where (he main 

 branches divergo from the trunk. .-V pair will inhabit the 

 same locality for years, and often occupy a nest for several 

 seasons. ' * * It is stated that this species ;'emains 

 mated through life, and that even during the winter months 

 mates appear very much attached to each other, differing in 

 this respect from the Red-tail." — Fisher. 



DOES NOT PREY ON CHICKENS. 



Although this hawk is frequently charged with de- 

 stroying domestic fowls, observation in the field and 

 numerous dissections of food-receptacles of this si)e- 

 cies do not by any means justify such a statement. 

 My experience on this subject agrees in the main with 

 that of Dr. A. K. Fisher, who says: 



"Some authors insist that the Red-shouldered Hawk is de- 

 structive to poultry, but the writer in all his field experience 

 has never seen one attack, a fowl, nor has he found the re- 

 mains of one in the stomachs of those examined. In making 

 this statement, he does not include poultry which is eaten in 



