mi 



62 



THE HAWKS AND OWLS OF THE UNITED STATES. 



'J 'able 



[owing the results of examinations of 562 stomachs of the Red-tailed Hawk 

 (Buteo borealis) — Continued. 





Locality. 



Date. 



Poultry 



or game 



birds. 



Other birds. 



Mammals. 



Miscellaneous. 



Sandy Spring, Md 



Do 



Jan. 26,1891 

 Feb. 12.1891 







House mouse . . . 



2 meadow mice . 



3 meadow mice . 











Do 



Jan. 26,1891 

 Mar. 2.1891 

 Dec. 13. 1890 









Do 







Empty. 



Do 







3 meadow mice . 

 Pouched gopher. 





June 23, 1891 

 July 3,1891 







2 lizards, 5 grass- 

 hoppers, 1 mole 

 cricket. 



Empty. 



Walker Pass, Cal 













Summary. — Of 562 stomachs examined, 54 contained poultry or game birds; 51, other birds; 278, 

 mice; 131, other mammals; 37, batrachians or reptiles; 47, insects; 8, crawfish; 1, centipeds; 13, offal; 

 and 89 were empty. 



Hi 



RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, 



Buteo lineatus. 



I 



! 





t 



[Plate 8- Adult.] 



The Red-shouldered Hawk inhabits eastern North America from 

 Nova Scotia and Manitoba ranging south to the Gulf of Mexico and 

 west to the Great Plains. 



A dark race (Buteo lineatus elegans) inhabits the Pacific slope, north 

 to southern Oregon. 



A small race (Buteo lineatus alleni) occurs from Florida to Texas, and 

 extends south into Mexico. It is well to state here that, although the 

 Texas and Mexican specimens are of the same size as typical Florida 

 examples, they are much darker, owing to the increase of the rufous 

 pigment in the plumage, thus approaching the elegans type in colora- 

 tion. 



It will be seen from the above outline of its distribution that a con- 

 siderable portion of the dry interior of the United States, including the 

 Great Plains region, is without a representative of this species. 



The diet of the Red-shouldered Hawk is probably more varied than 

 that of most other birds of prey. For example, the writer has found in 

 the stomachs of the different individuals which have come under his 

 notice the remains of mammals, birds, snakes, frogs, fish, insects, cen- 

 tipeds, spiders, crawfish, earthworms, and snails, which represent 

 eleven classes of animal life. This Hawk is very fond of frogs, and, 

 although these batrachians are mentioned by Audubon and other 

 writers as forming a very considerable portion of their sustenance, 

 yet mice furnish fully 65 per cent of their food. Besides this very in- 

 jurious group of rodents, other small mammals, such as squirrels, young 

 rabbits, shrews, and moles, are taken. 



Some authors have stated that Hawks commonly commence on their 

 prey by eating the entrails. The tame Hawk elsewhere mention ed ? 

 and others that have come under the writer's observation, invariably 



