THE FERRUGINOUS ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK. 



( Archibuteo ferrugineus.) 



The poise of the larger hawks as they 

 perch upon the bare limb of a large tree 

 is wonderfully beautiful.' Not less at- 

 tractive is their flight as they gracefully 

 sail in circles high in the air or move 

 forward by measured strokes of their 

 strong wings. The graceful movements 

 of these birds seem all the more inter- 

 esting now that it is known that nearly 

 all the hawks are a positive benefit to 

 mankind. Especially is this, true of the 

 one we illustrate. It is the Ferruginous 

 Rough-leg of Western North America. 

 Its range extends from the Saskatche- 

 wan southward into Northern Mexico, 

 and from the Pacific coast eastward 

 across the Great Plains and, in the south, 

 to Texas. 



This large and handsome Hawk is an 

 inhabitant of the prairie country west of 

 the Mississippi river where it finds an 

 abundant supply of the smaller rodents 

 which form its chief article of diet. In 

 fact, its feeds to such an extent on the 

 ground squirrels that in many localities 

 it is called the Squirrel Hawk. Dr. 

 Coues found in the stomachs of those 

 that he examined the remains of bur- 

 rowing pouched rats, the western wood 

 mouse, the kangaroo mice and of other 

 rodents. To a limited extent it also 

 feeds upon grasshoppers and other in- 

 sects, but never attacks birds. 



When hunting, it either stands on the 

 ground of the open prairie or skims over 

 the surface in a labored and heavy 

 flight. However, when it circles "high 

 in the air its flight is graceful and re- 



sembles closely that of the golden eagle. 

 In fact, in parts of the west it is known 

 by the name Eagle." 



Regarding its home, Mr. Fisher says: 

 "The nest is usually built in a tree at 

 no great distance above the ground, but 

 when trees are not available it is placed 

 on the shelves of some of the earth 

 cliffs which abound in certain parts of 

 the west. Like that of the other larger 

 hawks, it is composed of good-sized 

 sticks and coarse herbage of one kind or 

 another and is lined with softer ma- 

 terial than the bulk of the structure is 

 composed of. When such things exist- 

 ed on the plains, the ribs and smaller 

 bones of the bufifalo were used in the 

 construction of the nest, often forming 

 a large part of it. The eggs, which are 

 usually three or four in number, are de- 

 posited in May, and by the middle of 

 July the young are ready to leave the 

 nest. Another authority states that 

 some of the nests of this Hawk, that 

 he examined, were not only lined with 

 weed, sticks and dry grasses, but also 

 with "small pieces of dry turf, which the 

 birds must have pulled or dug up with 

 a great deal of labor, as the sod was 

 very tough." 



Dr. Coues very justly calls this bird 

 the "handsomest of the North American 

 Falconidae." 



When in flight, or at rest, it is readily 

 distinguished from the more common 

 American rough-legged hawk by the 

 pure white of the plumage on the un- 

 derside of the body. 



71 



