BIRDS OF PREY 191 



Sir John Richardson says : " In the softness and fullness 

 of its plumage, its feathered legs, and its habits, this bird 

 bears some resemblance to the owl." 



The Red-tailed Hawk of our illustration is young and 

 shows the plumage of the immature form. 



This species may be called our winter hawk, and for this 

 reason the name borealis is most appropriate. It seldom 

 visits a barnyard, but will occasionally catch a fowl that has 

 strayed away from the protection of buildings. Its food 

 consists to a great extent of meadow and other species of 

 mice, rabbits, and other rodents. The remains of toads, 

 frogs, and snakes have also been found in its stomach. 



During the summer months it retires to the forests to 

 breed, where it builds a large and bulky though shallow 

 nest in trees, often at a height of from fifty to seventy-five 

 feet from the ground. The nest is constructed of sticks and 

 small twigs and lined with grass, moss, feathers, or other 

 soft materials. The number of eggs is usually three, though 

 there may be two or four. They are a little over two inches 

 long and less than two inches in diameter. They are dull 

 whitish in color and usually somewhat marked with various 

 shades of brown. Seth Mindwell. 



THE WESTERN RED-TAILED HAWK* 



The Western Red-tail is but a darker variety of the red- 

 tailed hawk so common in the eastern portion of North 

 America, where it is commonly called " Hen Hawk." The 

 western form has a long and narrow range covering that 

 part of North America between the Rocky Mountains and 



