;j(, THE RED-TAILED BUZZARD. 



strays far from home, for so powerful is this Hawk, that it is able not only 

 to kill them, but to carry them off in its claws to a considerable distance. 



The continued attachment that exists between Eagles once paired, is not 

 exhibited by these birds, which, after rearing their young, become as shy 

 towards each other as if they had never met. This is carried to such a 

 singular length, that they are seen to chase and rob each other of their prey, 

 on all occasions. I have seen a couple thus engaged, when one of them had 

 just seized a young rabbit or a squirrel, and was on the eve of rising in the 

 air with it, for the purpose of carrying it off to a place of greater security. 

 The one would attack the other with merciless fury, and either force it to 

 abandon the prize, or fight with the same courage as its antagonist, to prevent 

 the latter from becoming the sole possessor. They are sometimes observed 

 flying either one after the other with great rapidity, emitting their continued 

 cry of kae, or performing beautiful evolutions through the air, until one or 

 other of them becomes fatigued, and giving way, makes for the earth, where 

 the battle continues until one is overpowered and obliged to make off. It was 

 after witnessing such an encounter between two of these powerful marauders, 

 fighting hard for a young hare, that I made the drawing now before you, 

 kind reader, in which you perceive the male to have greatly the advantage 

 over the female, although she still holds the hare firmly in one of her talons, 

 even while she is driven towards the earth, with her breast upwards. 



I have observed that this species will even condescend to pounce on wood- 

 rats and meadow-mice; but I never saw one of these birds seize even those 

 without first alighting on a tree before committing the act. 



During the winter months, the Red-tailed Hawk remains perched for 

 hours together, when the sun is shining and the weather calm. Its breast is 

 opposed to the sun, and it then is seen at a great distance, the pure white of 

 that portion of its plumage glittering as if possessed of a silky gloss. They 

 return to their roosting-placcs so late in the evening, that I have frequently 

 heard their cry after sun-set, mingling with the jovial notes of Chuck-will's- 

 widow, and the ludicrous laugh of the Baired Owl. In the State of Loui- 

 siana, the Red-tailed Hawk roosts amongst the tallest branches of the 

 Magnolia granclijlora, a tree which there often attains a height of a hundred 

 feet, and a diameter of from three to four feet at the base. It is also fond of 

 roosting on the tall Cypress-trees of our swamps, where it spends the night 

 in security, amidst the mosses attached to the branches. 



The Red-tailed Hawk is extremely wary, and difficult to be approached 

 by any one bearing a gun, the use of which it seems to understand perfectly; 

 for no sooner does it perceive a man thus armed than it spreads its wings, 

 utters a loud shriek, and sails off in an opposite direction. On the other 

 hand, a person on horseback, or walking unarmed, may pass immediately 



