RED-TAILED HAWK 

 337. Buteo borealis. 21 in. 



One of the handsomest and most powerfully built 

 of our hawks. Adults with the tail rusty-red, with or 

 \flthout a narrow blackish band near the tip; below 

 white, with a band of blackish streaks across the 

 breast, and dusky markings on the sides. Young birds 

 are similar, but have the tail grayish-brown with 

 black bands. An examination of the food of this bird 

 of prey, made by the Department of Agriculture, shows 

 that, instead of living upon poultry as most farmers 

 think, their food consists chiefly of frogs, snakes, liz- 

 ards, mice and insects, less than one in ten of the 

 stomachs examined containing any remains of poultry. 



Notes. A shrill whistle or scream. 



Nest. Of sticks, weeds, leaves and trash high up 

 in tall trees; eggs white, spotted with blackish-brown. 



Range. Breeds in United States and Southern Can- 

 ada; winters in the United States. 337a., Krider Hawk 

 is a paler race found on the plains from Minn, to 

 Texas. 337d., Harlan Hawk, is darker and has the 

 tail mottled with blackish; found in the Gulf States. 



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