THE HED-SHOULDERED HAWK. 221 



borhood of open fields and swamps, and they frequent such localities most 

 of the time they remain with us. 



"I have noticed one habit of this Hawk which is common with most 

 birds of prey that I am familiar with — while they will breed in close prox- 

 imity to birds of the same order, they will never breed very near one 

 another — each pair occupying a piece of woods by themselves, unless it 

 should be quite a large one, and excluding all others of the same species. 



"Among other cases of the kind, I have known the Red- tailed and Red- 

 shouldered Hawks and the Great Horned Owl to nest near one another in 

 a small wood, and on one occasion I found a pair each of the Sharp-shinned, 

 Cooper's, and Red-shouldered Hawks, and of the Long-eared Owl breeding 

 so near together that I could stand beside the nest of a Ruffed Grouse, which 

 was close by also, and throw a stone to any of the others. 



"According to my observations the food of this Hawk consists principally 

 of mice, with the addition of moles, squirrels, young rabbits, and once in awhile 

 a small bird. They catch very few of the latter, but destroy perhaps more 

 poultry than the Red-tails, probably because they are more numerous here and 

 not so wild, but I am certain that the few fowls they take are more than com- 

 pensated for by the good they do in destroying noxious rodents." 



According to a careful investigation of one hundred and two stomachs 

 of this species, made under the direction of Dr. C. Hart Merriam, in charge 

 of the Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy, U. S. Department 

 of Agriculture, during the year 1887, the following summary was obtained: 

 .»« Of 102 stomachs examined, 1 contained poultry; 5, other birds; 61, mice; 20, 

 other mammals; 15, reptiles or batrachians; 40, insects; 7, spiders; 8, craw- 

 fish; 1, earth-worms; 1, offal; 1, catfish, and 3 were empty. The majority 

 of these birds were taken between the months of October and March. This 

 shows conclusively that the Red-shouldered Hawk is one of the beneficial 

 species, and does little injury. 



In the southern part of its range it begins laying early in March; in 

 North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, and Kansas about the latter half of 

 this month; in the New England and other Northern States rarely before 

 the second week in April, usually about the middle of this month, and cor- 

 respondingly later northward. They build more frequently in small woods 

 than the Red-tails, and the majority of their nests are found in lower situ- 

 ations, varying in height from 20 to 65 feet, rarely more, averaging about 

 40 feet from the ground. 



Besides the species of trees already mentioned, they nest in elms, oaks, 

 hickories, pines, and chestnuts. On Long Island, New York, Mr. William 

 Dutcher informs me that the latter are almost invariably selected. Their 

 nests are usually smaller than those of the Red-tail, measuring generally 

 from 18 to 24 inches in outer diameter by from 5 to 8 inches in depth. 

 The bulk of the nest varies considerably, according to its location in the 



