66 BIRDS OF PREY 



where absent. The head is large, and rather square in out- 

 line at the back. 



There are varieties of this bird scattered all over the 

 United States, and under most circumstances it is rather 

 difficult to tell them apart. 



The Red-Shouldered Hawk 1 has not only "red" shoul- 

 ders, but also a red head, neck, back and breast. But there 

 are many shades of red, and the so-called red on this bird 

 is as widely different from the red of a cardinal as blue is 

 from green. The so-called "red" on this Hawk is really a 

 rusty brown; and by the great amount of it, the small, round 

 head of the bird and its black tail crossed by about six bands 

 of white, this species may easily be distinguished from the 

 preceding. 



This Hawk is to be counted with the farmer's best friends. 

 Mr. J. Alden Loring knew a pair which for two years nested 

 within fifty rods of a poultry farm on which were about 800 

 young chickens and 400 ducks, but never attempted to catch 

 one. Mice constitute two-thirds of its food, but it is very 

 fond of frogs and toads. In the 220 specimens examined in 

 Washington were found the remains of creatures representing 

 eleven classes of life. The food exhibit was made up as 

 follows: 3 stomachs contained domestic fowls; 12, other 

 birds; 102, mice; 40, other small mammals (16 species in all); 

 20, reptiles; 3, fish; 39, amphibians (frogs and toads); 92, 

 insects; 16, spiders; 7, crawfish; and 1, earthworms. 



The service rendered by the Red-Shouldered Hawk con- 

 sists chiefly in the destruction of mice and grasshoppers; 



1 Bu'te-o lin-e-a'tus. Average length of male, 18 inches; female, 20 inches. 



