The Red-tailed Hawk 65 



fish, and on our last visit we picked up the head bones 

 of seven catfish. 



The wild life of the red-tail has a fascination for me. 

 He is as interesting as a person. He has a character as 

 clearly marked as that in any feathered creature I ever 

 saw. The bleak winter winds that sweep the valley of the 

 Columbia and drive the other birds to the southland, 

 never bother him. This is his permanent home. He Is 

 not a vagabond. He is local In his attachments and habits. 

 This is his hunting ground. He won it by years of de- 

 fence. He beats over the field and along the edge of the 

 woods as regularly as the fisherman casts his net. He has 

 his favorite perch. He watches the pond as closely for 

 carp as the farmer watches his orchard. His routine of life 

 is as marked as any inhabitant along the river. Nor can 

 I believe he is lacking in the sentiment of home. He adds 

 sticks to his house and enlarges it year by year. Who can 

 say that the old aerie Is not fraught with many hawk mem- 

 ories of the past? 



THE HAWK FAMILY 



The Hawks are medium or large-sized birds of powerful build. 

 They have strong, hooked bills and well-developed feet and talons. 

 Their flight is swift and dashing, and they catch their prey by watching 

 and swooping with great speed. They live largely on rabbits, squirrels, 

 gophers, and insects; some species capture birds and chickens. 



Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo horealis). Red Hawk, Hen Hawk: Male 

 and female, above, dark brown, marked with white and gray; breast, 

 whitish and bufiF, streaked across belly with brown; tail, rusty-red with 

 black band near end. Common resident throughout eastern North 

 America. Nests in March, generally in a tall tree in the woods. Eggs, 

 two to four, dirty white, blotched with purplish-brown. 



Western Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo horealis calurus): Same as above 

 species, but darker in color. Lives from the Mississippi to the Pacific. 



