BIRDS OP PREY. Hawks 



Fisher thinks it is a mistake to destroy it unless when 

 caught in the act ; as, after careful investigation, it has been 

 found that eighty-five per cent of its food is made up of 

 rodents destructive to agriculture. But still farmers make 

 scare-crows, and, when possible, shoot a Hawk and hang it 

 in the barnyard as a warning. 



A persevering boy, living on the outskirts of the woods 

 near Aspetuck Mills, secured a male Red-tail and two 

 young, this spring, and I saw them after they had been in 

 confinement for a week. The nest was in a particularly 

 dangerous location, in the top of a tall hickory, and was 

 reached by an arrangement of three ladders; a steel trap 

 was placed over the nest, and the old bird secured in this 

 way. The male was evidently rearing the young single- 

 handed, his mate having probably been shot; for she did 

 not answer his cries, and was never seen about the tree. 



The young, at the time I saw them, May 30, must have 

 been about five weeks old. They were downy and poorly 

 feathered with buffy white, barred and flecked with gray 

 and brown. The old bird did not struggle for liberty, but 

 seemed perfectly stoical, only turning occasionally when the 

 young clamoured (making a noise like the sharp peeping of 

 chickens), to ram a scrap of raw meat, of which there was 

 a supply in the cage, into their mouths, as they made no 

 effort to feed themselves. 



Red-shouldered Hawk: Buteo lineatus. 



Also called Hen Hawk. 



Plate 67. 



Length : 18-20 inches. 



Male and Female : Shoulders rust-red. Above reddish brown, the 

 middle of the feathers darker than the edges. Head, neck, and 

 lower parts rusty, transversely barred with whitish ; tail black 

 with white bands. Feet and nostrils bright yellow. 



Note : " Kee-o, kee-o ! " an agreeable sound. 



Season : Common resident. 



Breeds : In April and early May all through its range. 



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