4o6 THE RED-SHOULDERED HAWK. 



No. 182. 

 RED-SHOULDERED HAWK. 



A. O. U. No. 339. Buteo lineatus (Gmel). 



Synonyms. — Chicken Hawk; Hen Hawk; Red-shoui<dere;d Buzzard. 



Description. — Adult: Above rich chocolate-brown, fuscous and grayish 

 brown, varied) by rufous and ochraceous, especially on head and back, and by 

 whitish on scapulars and inner quills ; lesser wing-coverts extensively rufous, 

 forming a red "shoulder"; wing-quills and greater coverts dusky-barred and 

 white-spotted and -tipped, forming irregular bars; ends of primaries and tail 

 prmcipally blackish, the latter crossed by four or five narrow, white bands; and 

 tipped with white; upper tail-coverts barred and tipped with white, affording 

 occasional suggestion of white rump; four outer primaries deeply emarginate; 

 below cinnamon-rufous, paler or whitish on throat and crissum, heavily streaked 

 with dusky brown on sides of neck, throat and breast, heavily cross-barred with 

 whitish on lower breast, belly, and sides; tibiae tawny, indistinctly cross-barred 

 with darker rufous; cere and feet chrome yellow; bill blackish; claws black. 

 Immature : Different ; dark brown or fuscous above, only traces of rufous, — on 

 lesser wing-coverts, etc. ; wings grayish- or ochraceous-spotted, instead of white ; 

 qiiills extensively ochraceous on concealed portions; tail dusky, with seven 01 

 eight grayish bars, which become more ochraceous and gradually obsolete basally ; 

 below dull white or buffy, heavily streaked and striped, or longitudinally spotted 

 with dusky brown; throat and sides of neck dark brown, streaked as in adult 

 but with less ochraceous. Plumage subject to considerable variation, — fading, 

 albinism, melanism, etc. Adult male length 17.50-20.00 (444.5-508.) : wing 12.00- 

 13-50 (304.8-342.9); tail 7.50-9.50 (190.5-241.3) ; culmen from cere .80 (20.3). 

 Adult female length 19.00-22.00 (482.6-558.8); wing 13.25-14.25 (336.6-362.) 

 tail 8.50-10.00 (215.9-254.). 



Recognition Marks. — Crow size; rufous shoulder distinctive; smaller than 

 preceding species, more heavily marked below. The young of this species require 

 careful distinction from the young of borealis and platypterus. From the former 

 they are distinguished by smaller size, and by being more continuously marked 

 below, including shanks (tawny-washed and darker-barred) ; from the latter 

 by larger size and by ochraceous or grayish spotting on primaries. 



Nest, in trees, of sticks, sometimes lined with corn-pith and the like. Eggs. 

 3-5, sometimes 6, pale bluish white, with a rough or chalky surface, and spotted 

 or blotched with rufous or yellowish brown; occasionally unmarked. Av. size, 

 2.14 X 1.67 (54.4x42.4). 



General Range. — Eastern North America to Manitoba and Nova Scotia; 

 west to Texas and the Plains; south to the Gulf States and Mexico. Breeds 

 throughout its range. 



Range in Ohio. — Common resident. Retires from the northern portion of the 

 state in winter . 



THE common names of the Birds of Prey are sadly confused in Amer- 

 ica. We seldom use the noble word Falcon, altho it strictly applies to many 



