38 



THE RAPTORIAL BIRDS OF IOWA 



The 1910 Check List of the American Ornithologists' Union re- 

 cords 100 species and subspecies of Vultures, Hawks and Owls sup- 

 posed to occur north of the Mexican boundary in North America 

 and Greenland. Together with a newly-described subspecies (Buteo 

 platypterus iowensis) there are 101 all told. Of these three are 

 Vultures, 54 are Hawks and 44 are Owls. In Iowa there have been 

 found of raptorial birds one species of Vulture, 27 species and sub- 

 species of Hawks, and 12 species and subspecies of Owls; a total 

 of 40. Of the entire raptorial fauna of the United States we have 

 therefore about 40 per cent represented, divided as follows : one- 

 third of the Vultures, about one-half of the Hawks, and more than 

 one-fourth of the Owls. Considering the central location of Iowa, 

 and its relatively small relief, it is evident that the Raptores are well 



