BIRDS OF PREY 



(339) Buteo lineatus lineatus 



iGmcl.) (Lat., striped). 



RED-SHOULDERED H A W K . 

 Four outer primaries notched; all 

 barred conspicuously with blacli and 

 white. Ads. — Plumage as shown 

 by the bird on the right, very heavily 

 barred with rusty below; lesser wing 

 coverts more or less bright chestnut. 

 Im. — Above, including the shoulders, 

 dark brown; below streaked with 

 brown. L., 20.00; Ex. 42.00; T., 8.50; 

 Tar., 3.00. Eggs — White, blotched 

 with brown, 2.15 x 1.75. 



Range — Breeds from N. S., 

 Quebec, and Reewatin south nearly 

 to the Gulf. Winters from Mass. 

 and Mich, south to the Gulf. A 

 smaller, paler species, FLORIDA 

 RED-SHOULDERED HAWK (N. 

 1. alleni), is found in the South 

 Atlantic and Gulf States. 



heights, moving slowly with the wind or in wide circles on 

 apparently motionless wings. At such times they frequently 

 give utterance to their shrill, piercing whistles. 



Their nests are usually placed quite high in any kind of 

 woodland trees. I ha\'e found more in chestnuts than in 

 any others, but probably only because these trees are abun- 

 dant in New England woods. Smaller woods with open 

 fields and swamps near at hand are preferred by these birds. 

 Their nests are rather bulkily constructed, but are well 

 made, for they are used year after year if not molested too 

 often; they are lined with strips of bark, fine twigs, and 

 usually some feathers. The eggs are dull white, usually 

 blotched with brown, but very variable . 



RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS, which are slightly 

 smaller and even more common and better known than 

 Red-tails, are very similar in their food habits to the latter — 

 that is, they may be regarded as excellent hawks to have 

 about from an economic standpoint. Too many of them 

 would not be desirable, because a shortage of rodents would 



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