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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



RED-TAILED HAWK 



{Buteo borealis) 



This fine bird, under the name of 

 "chicken hawk," is universally known, as 

 it is conspicuous and widely distributed, 

 although ranging by preference in hilly or 

 mountainous regions where there are for- 

 ests. It is strong and graceful on the 

 wing and spends hours in soaring in wide 

 circles, sometimes so high in the air as 

 to be almost out of sight. Its flight is not 

 particularly swift, and it often rests for 

 long periods on limbs or the tops of dead 

 trees, where it has a commanding view. 



The red-tail is preeminently a mouse 

 hawk, meadow mice particularly being a 

 staple article in its diet. It also eats other 

 mice, squirrels, gophers, rabbits, kangaroo 

 rats, wood rats, moles and shrews, has 

 been known to attack skunks, and also 

 kills snakes and lizards. In summer and 

 fall, particularly in the Western States, it 

 consumes many grasshoppers when these 

 appear in pestilential abundance. 



Ground-inhabiting birds are eaten at 

 times, but, on the whole, the red-tail is 

 distinctly beneficial, meriting protection 

 except where some individual acquires the 

 habit of eating chickens. In spite of the 

 good that it does, it is shot on every occa- 

 sion and has been so reduced in many sec- 

 tions of the eastern United States that it 

 is now a rare bird. 



The nest of the red-tail is a large struc- 

 ture of sticks, sometimes with a slight lin- 

 ing of soft materials. The eggs vary from 

 two to four, being creamy white, occa- 

 sionally unmarked, but ordinarily spotted 

 with shades of brown. In the South these 

 birds begin to nest in February, the nest- 

 ing period being governed in the North by 

 the date of the opening of spring. 



The voice is a high-pitched scream, a 

 stirring sound usually being given as the 

 birds circle high in the air. The imma- 

 ture bird in the first fall has the tail brown, 

 barred with blackish. 



This is one of the species that formerly 

 appeared in southward migration in abun- 

 dance, but the soaring flocks of early days 

 are now things of the past and each year 

 the birds seem to become fewer. 



In its wide range from Alaska through 

 central Canada to Nova Scotia and south 

 through the United States, the red-tail is 

 divided into five geographic races, and 

 other forms are found in the West Indies 

 and Central America. 



RED-SHOULDERED HAWK 



(Buteo lineatus) 



This common cousin of the red-tail 

 ranges in wooded country, and can main- 

 tain itself where groves and trees border 

 cultivated fields. Though it delights in 

 soaring, it seems somewhat less active 

 than the red-tail. It may be distinguished 

 on the wing by the narrow barring of the 

 under-wing surface. 



The food is highly varied, including 

 mice, rats, snakes, frogs, fish, large in- 

 sects, centipedes, spiders, crayfish, earth- 

 worms, and snails. It seems to take even 

 fewer birds than the red-tail, and only 

 occasional individuals acquire the chicken- 

 killing habit or attack game birds. There 

 are numerous instances on record where 

 these birds have nested in woods adjacent 

 to hen-yards without attempting in any 

 way to molest the poultry. 



On the whole, this hawk should be pro- 

 tected, though many are wantonly killed 

 by hunters, so that the species is decreasing 

 in many localities. 



"rEd-shouldees" nest high or low 



The nest of the "red-shoulder" is made 

 of twigs, placed in trees often at a con- 

 siderable elevation, but occasionally as low 

 as 1 8 or 20 feet. The number of eggs in 

 a set varies from two to six, with three or 

 four as the usual number. These are white, 

 sometimes with a yellowish or bluish tinge, 

 marked with shades of brown and gray. 

 Eggs without markings are rare. 



The calls of the red-shouldered hawk 

 are loud, wailing screams that may be 

 heard for some distance. They are mim- 

 icked by the bluejay so perfectly that it is 

 often difficult to distinguish the imitation. 



The northern red-shouldered hawk, Bu- 

 teo lineatus lineatus, ranges from south- 

 ern Canada to southern Kansas and North 

 Carolina, migrating to the Gulf coast in 

 winter. The Florida red-shoulder, Buteo 

 I. alleni, which is smaller, nests from Okla- 

 homa and South Carolina to Louisiana 

 and southeastern Florida. 



The insular red-shoulder, Buteo I. ex- 

 timus, still smaller and paler in color, is 

 found in- the Florida Keys. 



The Texas red-shoulder, Buteo I. tex- 

 anus, with richer color below, nests from 

 southern Texas to Tamaulipas; and the 

 red-bellied hawk, Buteo I. elegans, with 

 more rufous below, is found in California 

 and northwestern Baja California. 



