192 



abl>- it does not differ from hawks in this respect. Birds of 

 this family rmist folUiw their proy, wherever this leads 'hem. 

 and only a few of the more powerful species, able to prey upon 

 hares and ptarmlgran, pass the winter in our liighest latitudes. 

 'Phe lluugh-legged is a rather northerly species, rarely, if ever, 

 bi-eeding within the limits of the United States, and becom- 

 ing- larer towards its southern terminus." — Coues. 



AN ERROR CORRECTED. 



I tlcsire to correct here an error which was made, 

 hut (liioiigh no fault of mine, in tlie first issue of the 

 I'.irds of Pennsylvania, pp. !)2 -93, wlu^re T slated, on 

 the authority of jNfr. Sauuiel T>. Ladd, of West Chester, 

 Pa., that he (Mr. Ladd) had, April 5, 188(5, found a nest 

 and two eggs of this bird in a thick woods at Fite's 

 Eddy, on the Susquehanna river. A description of the 

 nest and eggs was published in my first report, as 

 given to me by Mr. Ladd, but I have since learned from 

 Mr. Ladd that he did not secure or (n'en see the hawks, 

 hence I am satisfied that this "record" was without 

 doubt based on erro-neous identification. Dr. C. H. 

 Merriam, of ITnited States Department of Agriculture. 

 Washington, D. 0., informs me that he is not aware of 

 a single authentic record of the breeding of the Rough- 

 legged Hawk anywhere within the limits of the United 

 States. 



SUBSISTS MAINEY ON FIEI^D MU'K. 



in the Rough-legged HaAvk, we find another exam- 

 ple of one of our larger feathered mouse hunters, which 

 is often slandered by the name of "hen-hawk." 



Since the Scalp Act was in force, and thousands of 

 the most beneficial hawks were slain, this s])ecies has 

 become, T might say, almost a i-are visitor to marshy 

 lands where in former years, T have found it frequently 

 quite phmtifiil. The viscera of sixteen of these hawks 

 which the writer has examined, contained only field 

 mice and a few other small rodeurs. The food table. 



