FERRUGINOUS ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK 



348. Arcliil)iitco ferrugineus. 23 in. 



Legs feathered to the toes. Adults with back, shoul- 

 ders, thighs and legs, rusty, barred or streaked with 

 black; tail grayish-white, tinged with rusty. Young 

 birds are brownish-black, above and without any rusty 

 below. In the dark phase they are sooty-brown, more 

 or less varied with rusty, and the tail is the same as 

 in the light plumage. Their bill is larger and tail 

 longer than that of the last species. A fairly abundant 

 hawk on the plains and prairies west of the Miss., 

 usually not at a great distance from water. 



Nest. Usually on the ground on bluffs or rocky 

 ledges, but sometimes in trees; made of sticks and 

 weeds; sometimes used year after year, and then be- 

 coming bulky, as it is added to each year ; eggs white, 

 handsomely spotted and blotched with blackish-brown, 

 very variable. 



Range. Breeds west of the Miss., from Kansas, lo- 

 cally, and the Dakotas, abundantly, north to Sas- 

 katchewan. Winters south to Mexico. 



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