BIRDS OF FERGUS COUNTY, MONTANA 29 



337b. WESTERN RED-TAIL. Buteo borealis calurus. 



This fine hawk occurs regularly throughout the county in suitable 

 places, the heavily timbered bottomlands being its favorite haunts. It is 

 doubtless resident, though not seen often in winter in this neighborhood. 

 Dr. C. E. McChesney reports this hawk as quite common in the Big Horn 

 region. Messrs. Richmond and Knowlton also report it as quite common 

 in south-central Montana. 



Dfstinguishing features: Upper parts chiefly dark grayish-brown; 

 lower parts dull yellowish brown; tail bright rusty red or brown; tail with 

 a band of black near end; length 20-25 inches. 



342. SWAINSON'S HAWK. Buteo swainsoni. 



A very common summer resident, occuring in greater numbers than 

 any other of the Raptores except the sparrow hawk. In this locality, where 

 the trees are confined chiefly to the water-courses, Swainson's hawk is no- 

 ted mostly in the vicinity of the streams and coulees. However, it is a fre- 

 quenter of the edges of irrigating ditches, whose banks in this region are 

 frequently high and steep on one side at least, and along these banks the 

 hawks can be seen sitting watching for incautious gophers, grasshoppers, 

 small snakes, and other quarry. This hawk begins to be noticeable early 

 in May, though stragglers are seen earlier in advanced seasons. On May 

 17, 1900, I watched a pair of Swainson's hawks, and it was evident that 

 they were already mated. The female was sitting on a post along an irri- 

 gating ditch, where she remained for nearly an hour, paying no attention 

 to the fact that I was stationed within fifty feet of her and observing her 

 with interest. Once the male came flapping along with a small snake dan- 

 gling from his feet, and sailed low over her and back. Seeing me, he mani- 

 fested more caution, and disappeared over the edge of the bank. Presently 

 he came back without his prey, and trampled roughly upon the female, ut- 

 tering harsh cries; then apparently remembering my presence, he sailed 

 over my head, scolding me with sharp cries. As this performance occurred 

 within sight of a nest in an old willow nearby, I concluded that the pair 

 had decided to take possession of the nest at the suitable time. I was 

 not mistaken, for upon visiting the nest on June 6, I found two eggs ad- 

 vanced in incubation. The nest was an old structure which had been some- 

 what repaired by adding a few fresh sticks, in the top of an old willow 

 twenty feet from the ground. The eggs are dingy white in color, marked 

 irregularly with blotches and splashes of pale brown in varying hues, the 

 markings predominating at the larger end. 



By the beginning of June Swainson's hawk is generally nesting, anfl 

 many of the nests are furnished with full sets of eggs. On June 1, 1901, 

 1 found a nest of this hawk, which contained three eggs in which incubation 

 had advanced to blood. It was twenty feet from the ground in a triple 

 crotch of an old willow in a coulee through which ran a small stream of 

 water, and the branch containing the nest overhung the water. It was an 

 old nest repaired with fresh sticks to which a few leaves were clinging, 

 the interior cavity being eight inches in diameter, and two and one-half 



