THE RED-SHOULDERED HAWK. 



Q) 



{^ HE Hawk family is an inter- 

 esting one and many of them 

 are beautiful. The Red- 

 shouldered Hawk is one of 

 the finest specimens of these birds, as 

 well as one of the most useful. Of 

 late years the farmer has come to know 

 it as his friend rathei than his enemy, 

 as formerly. It inhabits the wood- 

 lands where it feeds chiefly upon 

 Squirrels, Rabbits, Mice, Moles, and 

 Lizards. It occasionally drops down 

 on an unlucky Duck or Bob White, 

 though it is not quick enough to catch 

 the smaller birds. It is said to be 

 destructive to domestic fowls raised in 

 or near the timber, but does not appear 

 to search for food far away from its 

 natural haunts. As it is a very noisy 

 bird, the birds which it might destroy 

 are warned of its approach, and thus 

 protect themselves. 



During the early nesting season its 

 loud, harsh kce-oo is heard from the 

 perch and while in the air, often keep- 

 ing up the cry for a long time without 

 intermission. Col. Goss says that he 

 collected at Neosho Falls, Kansas, for 

 several successive years a set of the 

 eggs of this species from a nest in the 

 forks of a medium sized oak. In 

 about nine days after each robbery the 

 birds would commence laying again, 

 and he allowed them to hatch and 

 rear their young. One winter during 

 his absence the tree was cut down, 

 but this did not discourage the birds, 

 or cause them to forsake the place, for 

 on approach of spring he found them 

 building: a nest not over ten rods from 



the old one, but this time in a large 

 sycamore beyond reach. This seemed 

 to him to indicate that they become 

 greatly attached to the grounds selected 

 for a home, which they vigilantly 

 guard, not permitting a bird of prey to 

 come within their limits. 



This species is one of the commonest 

 in the United States, being especially 

 abundant in the winter, from which it 

 receives the name of Winter Falcon. 

 The name of Chicken Hawk is often 

 applied to it, though it does not deserve 

 the name, its diet being of a more 

 humble kind. 



The eggs are usually deposited in 

 April or May in numbers of three or 

 four — sometimes only two. The 

 ground color is bluish, yellowish-white 

 or brownish, spotted, blotched and 

 dotted irregularly with many shades 

 of reddish brown. Some of them are 

 strikingly beautiful. According to 

 Davie, to describe all the shades of reds 

 and browns which comprise the varia- 

 tion would be an almost endless task, 

 and a large series like this must be 

 seen in order to appreciate how much 

 the eggs of this species vary. 



The flight of the Red-shouldered 

 Hawk is slow, but steady and strong 

 with a regular beat of the wings. 

 They take delight in sailing in the 

 air, where they float lightly and with 

 scarcely a notable motion of the wings, 

 often circling to a great height. Dur- 

 ing the insect season, while thus sail- 

 ing, they often fill their craws with 

 grass-hoppers, that, during the after 

 part of the day, also enjoy an air sail. 



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