BIRDS OF PREY 149 



her claws, and carried him to the nest. It was impos- 

 sible to see whether she was holding him between them 

 or grasping him by them. Five days later the nest was 

 deserted and the young hawks were nowhere to be 

 found. The adults still appeared in the vicinity, but the 

 young were safely hidden from prying eyes in the heavy 

 foliage. 



339 b. RED-BELLIED HAWK. — Buteo lineatus elegans. 



Family : The Falcons, Hawks, Eagles, etc. 



Length: Male 17.00-19.00 ; female. 18.50-21.00. 



Adults: Upper parts dark brown, streaked with buffy or white ; shoulders 

 blight red-brown ; under parts chestnut, barred with white on belly 

 and sides ; wings and tail barred with white. 



Young : Under parts dusky ; wing-quills spotted with buffy. 



Downy Young : Dull grayish white. 



Geographical Distribution: Pacific coast of the United States, south to 

 Mexico, east to Texas. 



Breeding Range : In California, chiefly in the interior valleys from lati- 

 tude 33° to 41°. 



Nest: Of twigs; lined with vegetable fibre, feathers, and leaves; on 

 limbs of trees, usually in the neighborhood of water. 



Eggs : 2 to 5 ; grayish white, marked with brown and lilac. Size 

 2.40 X 1-77. 



This is the Western race of the red-shouldered hawk. 

 It is one that should receive all protection from the law. 

 Mr. Lyman Beldings records a pair that for three sea- 

 sons nested near a poultry yard, and whose post mortem 

 proved their food to have been exclusively lizards, tree- 

 frogs, and insects. Mrs. Bailey says that their food is 

 " sometimes small birds," but this is doubtless in treeless 

 regions, where their favorite food is less easily obtained. 

 In most parts of California where they breed, the records 



