1860. 



NEW EXGLAND FARMER. 



557 



while from this altitude iis clear, shrill, and well- 

 known cry of kae, kae, prolonged, and but little 

 varied, is distinctly heard. In Louisiana it is 

 said to build its ne.st early in February, but in 

 New England it is not commenced till near the 

 first of May, at which time it retires to the dense 

 forests, selecting one of the tallest trees for the 

 receptacle of its nest, which is large, and placed 

 as near the top as convenient, comi^osed of coarse 

 sticks and twigs, and lined with finer materials. 

 The eggs, four in number, are dull white, thinly 

 marked with brown. 



Lengtli of this specie, twenty to twenty-two 

 inches ; breadth of wing, three feet, nine inches; 

 above, dusky brown ; beneath, brownish-white, 

 streaked with dai'k brown ; tail, ferruginous in 

 the adult birds. 



The Common Buzzard, or Short-winged Buz- 

 zard, (Buieo vulgaris, Bechst.,) inhabiting the 

 northern parts of the continent and the Rocky 

 Mountains, is met with in New England, but 

 more commonly at the approach of winter. In 

 Europe it is described as a common and well- 

 known bird. Its disposition is sluggish, content- 

 ing itself with the most ignoble game, and rarely 

 exhibiting courage enough to attack the domestic 

 fowls. At times it delights to soar at great alti- 

 tudes, but generally remains perched near mead- 

 ows and swamps, v,-here it indolently watches for 

 the appearance of frogs, mice, and other small 

 animals. It is of about the size of the preced- 

 ing species. It breeds in trees, commonly in the 

 higher latitudes, laying five greenish-white eggs, 

 blotched with brown. 



The Rough-Legged Buzzard (Buteo lagopus, 

 Bechst.,) is also a European species as well as 

 American, but here appears to be more common 

 in the northern parts of the continent than else- 

 where. It visits the United States in winter, but 

 at the approach of spring again returns to more 

 boreal latitudes, where it has been found to breed. 

 "This handsome species," observes Wilson, "not- 

 withstanding its formidable size and appearance, 

 spends the chief part of the winter among our low 

 swamps and meadows watching for mice, frogs, 

 lame ducks and other inglorious game. Twenty 

 or thirty individuals of this family have regularly 

 taken up their winter quarters for several years 

 past — and probably long anterior to that date — in 

 the meadows below this city, (Philadelphia,) be- 

 tween the rivers Delaware and Schulykill, where 

 they spend their time watching along the dry 

 banks like cats ; or sailing low and slowly over 

 the surface of the ditches." 



The rough-legged buzzard is twenty-two inches 

 in length and fifty in alar expanse. Color above, 

 chocolate brown edged withferrugineous, beneath 

 ocheraceous streaked with dusky; bill uncommon- 

 ly small, suited to the humility of its prey." 



The Black Buzzard, {Buteo Saudi Johannis, 

 Bonap.,) is a rare species, said to be remarkably 

 shy and wary, and described as partial to the vi- 

 cinity of the larger rivers, swamps and marshes 

 generally, where its favorite food of mice, frogs 

 and moles is observed to abound. It spends the 

 summer far to the North, breeding in Newfound- 

 land, Labrador and around Hudson's Bay, visit- 

 ing the United States in winter, but is rarely seen 

 here in summer. Its flight is easy and sailing, 

 occasionally swift, and apparently performed with 

 but little exertion. The length of this species is 



twenty-one inches, breadth of wing fifty ; general 

 color quite black, with slight touches of brownish. 

 This species has been described by some writers 

 as the young of the preceding (Buteo lagopus.) 

 but is now generally considered as distinct. 



The Red-Shouldered Buzzard, {Buteo lin- 

 eaius, Jardine,) is dispersed over the greater part 

 of the United States, though according to Audu- 

 bon, rarely observed in the middle districts, and is 

 generally considered to be a quite rare species. In 

 summer it is confined chiefly to the woods, breed- 

 ing in the tallest trees, constructing a large nest, 

 somewhat resembling that of the common Crow, 

 near the extremity of a large branch, and laying 

 four or five bluish white eggs, faintly marked at 

 the smaller end with brownish red. It is said to 

 prey much upon squirrels, silently watching for 

 them in an erect posture, and killing them instant- . 

 ly as it pounces upon them ; but larks and small 

 water-birds constitute an important part of its 

 food. It is described as one of the noisiest birds 

 of its tribe, frequently uttering its shrill, discord- 

 ant ka-hee ka-liee, especially in spring, and de- 

 lighting to soar in swift gyrations at great eleva- 

 tions. This species, in connection with the fol- 

 lowing, has been a source of perplexity to natu- 

 ralists, it being often described as the Red- 

 Shoiddered or Winter Hawk, and in the account 

 is blended together the history of both, and it is 

 now hardly decided whether one or two species 

 really exist under this cogn«omen, though there 

 seems to be sufficient reason for regarding the 

 Esd-Shoiddered Buzzard and the Winter Buzzard 

 as two distinct species. Indeed, they were so de- 

 scribed by Wilson and Audubon, though Bona- 

 parte and others have regarded them as the same 

 bird in diff'erent states of plumage. The species 

 described as 



The Winter Hawk, (Astur'? hyemalis of 

 Jardine, Falco hyemalis of Wilson and Audu- 

 bon) seems to be a migratory species coming to 

 us from the north at the approach of winter, be- 

 ing quite common in that season, even in those 

 regions that the Red-shouldered Hawk is seldom 

 observed to frequent. Wilson describes it as a 

 dextrous frog-catcher, these reptiles constituting 

 its chief food, and speaks of extracting from the 

 craw of a single individual, "the broken frag- 

 ments and whole carcases of ten frogs of different 

 dimensions," and Audubon mentions frog-catch- 

 ing as a characteristic of this species. Its cry, 

 resembling the syllables kay-o, is clear and pro- 

 longed, but is not often uttered. These birds are 

 about the size of the Red-tailed Buzzard, the 

 Red-shouldered Buzzard being rather larger than 

 the Winter Hawk, and they differ much in the 

 color of their plumage. 



In the genus Circus we meet with birds some- 

 what approaching the Owls, in having a collar of 

 fringed feathers surrounding the face, and in the 

 relative size of the head and neck. They are bold 

 and vigorous birds, possessing a powerful and 

 easy flight, but subsisting chiefly on such ignoble 

 game as mice, reptiles and small birds, though 

 when pressed by hunger fearlessly attacking the 

 poultry. The common Marsh Hawk or Hen 

 Harrier, Circus Hudsonius, Vieill.) is a well 

 known species, inhabiting the whole United 

 States and far to the North. Species closely al- 

 Hed to the present are found to exist in nearly all 

 parts of the world, and for a long time this bird 



