502 Colorado College Publication 



entirely absent. Lenth 20.8 ins.; Extent 53.5 ins.; Wing 15.5 

 ins. ; Tail 8.8 ins. Weight 40 ounces. 



It was noted that the stomachs in all the specimens were 

 quite empty. 



A larger flock of melanistic hawks was seen in 1912 by 

 Charles O'Connor who brought to Aiken a beautiful example 

 shot by him a short distance east of Prospect Lake. He 

 counted at that place 36 hawks within a limited area, all of 

 the same form. This was on April 20, a bright sunny day 

 succeeding a period of stormy weather. The hawks were 

 sitting about on the open prairie and were engaged in catch- 

 ing grasshopper larvae. He could also discern another flock 

 similarly .engaged so far away that he could not determine 

 the variety. The specimen secured is a female similar in 

 coloration to the one described above, and weighed two ounces 

 more. 



Archibuteo lagopus sancti-johannis. Rough-legged Hawk. 



Winter resident, common. Arrives about November 1, 

 and departs early in April. 



A bird in the normal plumage was seen in Monument Val- 

 ley Park, January 10 and 12, 1913. 



Archibuteo ferrugineus. Ferruginous Rough-leg. Squirrel 

 Hawk. 



Resident, common ; much more abundant in summer than 

 in winter. 



This hawk is a bird of the plains rather than of the moun- 

 tains, living mainly on mice, ground squirrels, gophers, rabbits 

 and prairie dogs, and is an exceedingly useful bird, rarely if 

 ever attacking poultry or wild birds. While a number spend 

 the winter with us, there are more about in summer, and it is 

 quite possible that our summer birds leave in the autumn and 

 that the winter residents come from farther north. 



