Kites, Hawks, Eagles, etc. 



the tufrs of mouse hair and pellets of other disgorged, indigestible 

 material plentifully besprinkling the ground. 



The Western Red-tail (Buteo borealis calurus), a darker 

 colored race than the preceding, differs from it in no essential 

 particulars. 



Red-shouldered Hawk 



{Buteo lineatus) 



Called also: HEN HAWK; CHICKEN HAWK; WINTER 

 HAWK; WINTER FALCON; RED-SHOULDERED BUZ- 

 ZARD. 



(Illustration facing p. 320) 



Length — Male 18 to 20 inches; female 20 to 22 inches. 



Male and Female — Rich dark reddish brown above, the feathers 

 more or less edged with rufous, buff and whitish; lesser 

 wing coverts rusty red, forming a conspicuous patch on 

 shoulders; four outer feathers of wings notched and all 

 barred with black and white; tail dark with white bars; 

 under parts rusty or buff, the throat streaked with blackish, 

 elsewhere irregularly barred with white; feet and nostrils 

 yellow. Immature birds plain dark brown above, the wing 

 patch sometimes indicated, sometimes not; head, neck, 

 and under parts pale buff, fully streaked with dark brown ; 

 wing and tail quills crossed with many light and dark bars. 



Range — Eastern North America from Manitoba and Nova Scotia 

 to the Gulf states and Mexico, westward to Texas and the 

 great plains ; nests throughout its range. 



Season — Permanent resident. 



To shoot this commonest of the hawks has long been 

 regarded as a virtue among farmers in the unfounded belief that 

 it is an enemy to their prosperity ; but the Department of Agri- 

 culture has prepared a special bulletin on the hawks and owls for 

 their enlightenment, and the two so-called "hen hawks" have 

 proved to be among the most valuable allies the farmer has. Of 

 two hundred and twenty stomachs of the red-shouldered hawk 

 examined by Mr. Fisher, only three contained remains of poul- 

 try; one hundred and two contained mice; ninety-two insects; 

 forty, moles and other small mammals ; thirty-nine, batrachians ; 

 twenty, reptiles; sixteen, spiders; twelve, birds; seven, craw- 

 fish; three, fish; two, offal; one, earthworms: and fourteen 



319 



