190 4 NOTES ON THE 
the borders of the forest for constructing their nests in, if con- 
tiguous to open, dry prairie, but will employ scattering ones, 
or the ground along the course of streams running through 
sections favoring the supply of their food, which consists 
chiefly of small quadrupeds and grasshoppers. 7 
The nest, like those of most of its genus, is constructed of 
coarse sticks, on which rather smaller ones are placed, mixed 
with twigs, over which are laid grass and some leaves. The 
eggs bear similar colors to those of the Red-tails. 
They are the most abundant Hawk in northern Dakota, and 
scarcely less so in the sections of Minnesota immediately con- 
tiguous. They retire somewhat earlier than do the Red-shoul- 
dered and Red-tailed in autumn, the latest record I have being 
October 17th. 
SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 
Pill wide at base, compressed towards the tip, lobed, cere 
large; wing long, third quill longest; tail moderate, rather 
wide, even at the tip; tarsus feathered in front nearly half its 
length, naked behind, the bare portion in front having about 
twelve transverse scales; toes rather short, the claws strong; 
entire upper parts dark brown, nearly black in the middle of 
many feathers, paler on the edges; quills brownish black, with 
wide transverse bands of cinereous on their inner webs, becom- 
ing paler and nearly pure white towards the base of the quill; 
tail brown tinged with ashy, and having about ten to twelve 
transverse bands of a darker shade of brown, the subterminal of 
which is widest; tip edged with white; throat white, with lon- 
gitudinal lines of dark brown; neck before and breast ashy-brown, 
nearly the same color as the tail, some of the feathers edged 
with reddish; other under parts white, nearly pure on the 
under tail coverts, and with transverse irregular bars of rufous 
on the tibize and the flanks, and darker prowmicneee ae on the 
abdomen; under wing coverts white, with a few spots of trans- 
verse stripes of brown; bill dark slate; tarsi, toes, and cere 
yellow. 
Length (of female), 21.50; wing, 16; tail, 8.50. 
Habitat, western North America. 
BUTEO LATISSIMUS (Witson). (343. ) 
BROAD-WINGED HAWK. 
A little above the Falls of Minnehaha there is a limited 
forest of dense timber, consisting of nearly all of the ordinary 
varieties of deciduous trees. Through it run in several direc- 
tions, obsolete wagon ways over which thrifty undergrowths 
of different kinds have formed arches high enough for a horse 
and carriage to pass under. Along side of one of these through 
