366 ARCHIBUTEO FEREUGINEUS, FEEEUGIKEOUS BUZZARD. 



clay I killed the one just spoken of, and but a few moments before, rid- 

 ing through the woods, I came up to a Eed-tail, perched on a bough only 

 four or five yards overhead. I did not see it myself until I was right 

 underneath it, too near to shoot; so I rode on a few steps, wheeled sud- 

 denly, and made a successful shot as the bird flew. On another occasion 

 a large Hawk suffered a squadron of cavalry to file past him as he 

 cowered against the face of a rocky ledge, not fifteen yards away ; and 

 only took wing, a few seconds too late, on discovering, by my motions, 

 that he was observed. 



According to my observations in the West, the Ferrugineous Buzzards 

 have no partiality for watery places, thus differing from the eastern 

 Eougnlegs. About Fort Whipple the birds mostly resorted to the open 

 plains and the grassy glades intervening between patches of pine- 

 woods. They could easily be distinguished by their size and the pure 

 whiteness of the under parts, and were beautiful objects, especially when 

 circling overhead. They were common, especially in winter, but were 

 apparently resident. Their cries were loudest and most frequent in the 

 spring, resembling the syllables ca ca ca, rapidly repeated in a high key. 

 In the stomachs of those examined I found the remains of burrowing 

 j)onchedrdts {Thomomys fulvus, Woodh.), the western wood-mouse {Ses- 

 peromys leucopus var. sonoriensis), kangaroo-mice {Dvpodomys ordii), and 

 some Arvicolw 1 could not identify. I was never before aware of the 

 existence of the latter in this locality, and would remark, in passing, 

 how often small mammals, reptiles, and insects, which might long re- 

 main undetected,' owing to their rarity or insignificance, are found in the 

 stomachs of rai^acious birds. Such examination of rapacious animals 

 is important, on this account, as well as to learn what is the nature of 

 their food. Ifew species have occasionally been discovered in this way. 

 The bellies of large snakes are often important repositories, and excel- 

 lent specimens may be secured, owing to the slowness of digestion in 

 these reptiles, and to their swallowing their prey entire. 



This bird is known as the "California Squirrel Hawk" in some locali- 

 ties, but it is not to be inferred that they often capture the agile arboreal 

 Sciuri. The name is gained from their feeding extensively, in Cali- 

 fornia, upon the "ground squirrels" {Spermophilus beeclieyi), which 

 abound in many parts of that State. The Hawks are almost always, 

 too, observed in the vicinity of the settlements of the SpermopMli, 

 standing on the ground where there are no trees, or flying low over the 

 surface, in either case on the alert to seize any unlucky animal that luay 

 venture too far from home. They are also said to perch in wait at the 

 entrance of the burrows, ready to clutch the first animal that shows his 

 nose above ground. 



Accounts of the nidification of this species, resting upon Dr. Heer- 

 mann's testimony, have proven, I have been informed, not authentic; 

 he had some other species, probably the western Eed-tail, in view. I 

 never saw a nest, to my knowledge ; but it is not to be presumed that 

 the mode of nidification is peculiar. Several authentic eggs examined 

 measured from 2.50 by 2.00 to 2.00 by 1.75, and vary so much in mark- 

 ing that no general description will suflce. Some are whitish, with 

 faint grayish or drab shade, the markings obsolete or entirely wanting. 

 Others are pure white or bufify, conspicuously blotched and splashed 

 all over with various shades of rich brown-sienna, bistre, and umber, 

 and also a few paler markings of gray, purplish-drab, and neutral tint 

 They are broadly ellipsoidal in shape, with little or no appreciable dif- 

 ference in the contour of the opposite ends. 



