142 RED-SHOULDERED HAWK 



Red-tailed Hawk: Buteo borealis. 



Length about 2 feet. 



Upper parts very dark brown marked with reddish-brown 

 and whitish; tail in adults rusty red with black band near 

 the end, and white tip. 



Under parts white tinged with buffy; belly streaked with 

 brown. 



Common in winter, rare in summer. 



The Red-tailed is the Hawk most frequently seen* 

 in winter circling high over open ground. He eats 

 mice, rats and other small mammals. Dr. Fisher 

 says that on the new land of the Potomac flats a rank 

 vegetation has grown up which gives shelter and sus- 

 tenance to hordes of mice, and " in winter and early 

 spring it is not uncommon to see ten or fifteen Red- 

 tailed Hawks in different parts of this flat attracted 

 hither by the abundance of their natural food." In 

 migration he has seen a flock of sixty-five Red-tails 

 passing southward in large sweeping circles. He also 

 savs that when taken young this Hawk soon becomes 

 reconciled to captivity and makes a gentle and inter- 

 esting, pet. The nest is generally in a high tree from 

 forty to seventy feet up. The eggs, 2 to 4, are dull 

 white lightly marked with brown. 



Red-shouldered Hawk: Buteo lineatus. 



Length about 18 inches. 



Upper parts dark brown with a reddish cast; shoulders 

 rusty red; tail black, with white bars and a white tip. 

 Under parts reddish-brown barred with white. 

 Resident (common) all the year. 



The Red-shouldered Hawk receives only praise from 

 those who know its habits. Sixty-five per cent of 

 its food is mice, and the rest various small mammals, 

 frogs, fish and insects. Dr. Fisher says .that in all 



