Red-shouldered Hawk 257 



dence, since they are often to be observed circling about and chasing each other 

 high in airy and uttering their shrill, often-repeated, and far-reaching skee'-e-e-e. 

 The nest is placed in a tree, usually fifty or sixty feet from the ground, and is a 

 bulky structure of large sticks, the nesting cavity being usually shallow, and 

 lined with bark, grasses, weed-stalks, etc., or sometimes unlined. Ordinarily 

 they make but, little demonstration when the nest or young are disturbed, 

 although sometimes they defend their home by darting and screaming at the 

 intruder. The eggs are usually two or three in number, with a dull or creamy 

 white ground color, about one-fifth being unspotted, while the remainder are 

 more or less spotted and blotched with various shades of brown. 



Other Forms of Red-tail. The following geographical races are recognized : 

 the Western Red-tailed Hawk (B. b. calurus), which inhabits the country west 

 of the Rocky Mountains as well as portions of Mexico; Krider's Red-tail (B. 

 b. kriderii), found on the Great Plains from Minnesota to Texas; Marian's 

 Red-tail (B. b. harlani) of the lower Mississippi Valley and the Gulf States; 

 the Socorro Red-tail (B. b. socorroensis], found only on Socorro Island, off 

 western Mexico ; and the Costa Rica Red-tail (B. b. costaricensis] of Costa Rica 

 and Panama. 



Red-shouldered Hawk. Another well-known species is the Red -shouldered 

 Hawk (B. lineatus), a slightly smaller bird than the last and with about the 

 same range as the typical form. It is reddish brown above, the center of the 

 feathers being darker than the edge, while the head, neck, and lower parts, but 

 especially the shoulders, are more or less rusty or cinnamon, barred with whitish. 

 The tail is black and crossed by about six white bands. It is a somewhat less 

 shy bird than the Red-tail, and frequents lowlands bordering streams and 

 marshes, or, during the nesting season, upland woods. Although its food is 

 largely the same as that of the Red-tail, it is obliged to share with that species 

 the undeserved reputation of being a poultry yard marauder, yet out of 220 

 stomachs examined from birds killed at all seasons and in many parts of its 

 range, only 3 contained poultry, and 194 mice and insects, a sufficient proof of 

 its usefulness. The nest is not unlike that made by its relative, being composed 

 of sticks of various sizes, and lined with bark of the grapevine and other fibers, 

 or occasionally with a few green leaves. The eggs are usually three or four in 

 number, but sets of five and even six have been known; they are dull white or 

 bluish white, variously spotted and blotched with different shades of brown. 

 There are two geographical races of this species, a more rufous or rusty-breasted 

 form on the Pacific coast and a smaller race in Florida. 



Other American Species. Space will permit no more than a bare mention 

 of other American species. The Zone-tailed Hawk (B. abbreviatus), a bird of 

 South and Central America, and northward to the southern border of the 

 United States, is uniform black or blackish brown, the feathers with pure 

 white bases, and has the black tail crossed by three broad zones of white. 

 Swainson's Hawk (B. swainsoni), of western North America, is grayish brown 

 above and buffy white below, and there is a distinct black phase in both sexes; 

 the Little Black Hawk, so called, which may be known by the black or dark 



