HAWKS 287 



During the many weeks which we spent in the Canadian Zone we saw 

 goshawks but four times, and only on one occasion was more than a single 

 individual seen ; therefore the species is not to be considered at all common 

 in the Yosemite region. On October 3, 1915, an adult goshawk circled 

 about the head of G-len Aulin, and then made off rapidly down-caiion 

 through the lodgepole pine forest. Its rapid flight through the trees 

 suggested strongly its relationship to the smaller Sharp-shinned and 

 Cooper hawks. Another adult was seen to good advantage in the caiion 

 of Florence Creek on August 26. 



Near Ostrander Rocks, on June 23, 1915, a pair of adult goshawks 

 was routed out of a growth of dense red firs in a canon. They showed 

 much solicitude over the observer's presence, and kept flying about over- 

 head, frequently alighting on the uppermost tips of the fir trees and 

 uttering their shrill ringing cries in rapid series of from twelve to thirty- 

 six notes_ At this time all of the distinctive field characters enumerated 

 above could be seen to advantage, and when one flew close by, the fine 

 barring on the feathers of the lower surface was easily observed. Search 

 of trees in the vicinity led to the discovery of a nest about sixty feet up 

 in a red fir, supported by the lowermost smaller branches which started 

 from the trunk at that height. The ground below the nest, as in the case 

 of the nest of the Cooper Hawk cited above, was covered with white excre- 

 ment, suggesting recent or present occupation by young birds. 



In Yosemite Valley, on November 1, 1915, Mrs. Jack Gaylor shot an 

 immature female goshawk just as the bird swooped down into her chicken 

 yard. Its crop and gullet were empty. It was reported that five goshawks 

 were killed in the Valley in the fall of 1917. Mr. Donald D. McLean 

 reports that this hawk is occasionally seen in winter in the vicinity of 

 Smith Creek east of Coulterville, altitude about 3000 feet. 



Western Red-tailed Hawk. Buteo borealis calurus Cassin 



Field characters. — Size large, equaling that of Turkey Buzzard; tail short, usually 

 held broadly fan-shaped in flight (pi. 44c). Upper surface of body (except tail in 

 adults), dark chocolate brown; under surface of body varying from dark brown to 

 almost white, in different individuals; tail bright reddish brown in adults. Most often 

 seen sailing about in circles overhead; sails and glides much, with few wing strokes. 

 Voice : A shrill, long-drawn-out, whistled squee-oo, uttered once, or several times in slow 

 succession. 



Occurrence. — Resident in some numbers throughout the entire Yosemite region. 

 Noted as high as summit of Parson's Peak, over 12,000 feet altitude. 



The Western Red-tailed Hawk is a regular resident of the whole 

 Yosemite region, ranging from the cottonwood groves along the Merced 

 River at Snelling up to the Sierran crest, and also farther to the eastward, 

 about Mono Lake. It is not so abundant here, however, as in many other 



