Kites, Hawks, Eagles, etc. 



the tufts of mouse hair and pellets of other disgorged, indigestible 

 material plentifully besprinkling the ground. 



The Western Red-tail (Buteo borealis calurus), a darker 

 colored race than the preceding, differs from it in no essential 

 particulars. 



Red-shouldered Hawk 



(Buteo lineatus) 



Called also: HEN HAWK; CHICKEN HAWK; WINTER 

 HAWK; WINTER FALCON; RED-SHOULDERED BUZ- 

 ZARD. 



Length Male 18 to 20 inches; female 20 to 22 inches. 



Male and Female Rich dark reddish brown above, the feathers 

 more or less edged with rufous, buff and whitish; lesser 

 wing coverts rusty red, forming a conspicuous patch on 

 shoulders; four outer feathers of wings notched and all 

 barred with black and white; tail dark with white bars; 

 under parts rusty or buff, the throat streaked with blackish, 

 elsewhere irregularly barred with white; feet and nostrils 

 yellow. Immature birds plain dark brown above, the wing 

 patch sometimes indicated, sometimes not; head, neck, 

 and under parts pale buff, fully streaked with dark brown ; 

 wing and tail quills crossed with many light and dark bars. 



Range Eastern North America from Manitoba and Nova Scotia 

 to the Gulf states and Mexico, westward to Texas and the 

 great plains ; nests throughout its range. 



Season Permanent resident. 



To shoot this commonest of the hawks has long been 

 regarded as a virtue among farmers in the unfounded belief that 

 it is an enemy to their prosperity ; but the Department of Agri- 

 culture has prepared a special bulletin on the hawks and owls for 

 their enlightenment, and the two so-called "hen hawks" have 

 proved to be among the most valuable allies the farmer has. Of 

 two hundred and twenty stomachs of the red-shouldered hawk 

 examined by Mr. Fisher, only three contained remains of poul- 

 try; one hundred and two contained mice; ninety-two insects; 

 forty, moles and other small mammals; thirty-nine, batrachians; 

 twenty, reptiles; sixteen, spiders; twelve, birds; seven, craw- 

 fish; three, fish; two, offal; one, earthworms: and fourteen 



319 



