168 BIRDS OF NORTH CAROLINA 



never known one to kill a bird of any kind. It is undoubtedly the most abundant 

 of our larger hawks. Cairns regarded it as only a winter visitor in Buncombe 

 County. In most of the State, however, it is a resident throughout the year, build- 

 ing its nest in the crotches of large trees, usually oaks, along the creek bottoms. 

 The eggs are laid in early April, and are usually two or three in number, of a whitish 



FIG. 127. RED-SHOULDERED HAWK. 



ground-color, variously marked with different shades of brown, buff, and gray. 

 Size 2.15 x 1.70. On May 9, 1899, at Chapel Hill, Orange County, Pearson found 

 two handsomely marked eggs in a nest situated in a pine tree thirty feet from the 

 ground. At this date incubation was well advanced. H. H. Brimley has also found 

 the bird nesting in pine trees. 



151. Buteo swainsoni (Bonap.}. SWAINSON'S HAWK. 



Description. Gray, variously streaked; usually a bright chestnut or brownish area on breast; 

 tail with narrow dark bars, three outer primaries notched. L., 20.00; W., 15.00; T., 8.50. 

 Range. Western North America, east to the Mississippi. 

 Range in North Carolina. -Recorded by Cairns from Buncombe County. 



Swainson's Hawk is admitted to the fauna of this State on the strength of its 

 being included in Cairns's list of Buncombe County birds, published in the Ornithol- 

 ogist and Oologist for January, 1887. It is there spoken of as accidental. Cairns 

 was so careful and accurate an observer that his records cannot be lightly thrown 

 aside, and this one is therefore included here. 



152. Buteo platypterus platypterus (Vieitt.}. BROAD-WINGED HAWK. 



Description. -Brown above, whitish or fulvous below, variously streaked or barred; three outer 

 primaries "notched" (as in the Swainson's Hawk), and without markings. L., 15.50; W., 10.50; 

 T., 7.00. Easily distinguished from others of the genus by its smaller size. 



Range. Eastern North America. 



Range in North Carolina. -So far, only known from Wake, Orange, and Buncombe counties 

 in summer. 



