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AMERICAN NATURALIST. 
Vol. III. — OCTOBER, 1869. — No. 8. 
cc GS (9t DTD 
THE RED-TAILED HAWK. 
BY DR. W. WOOD. 
^ 
Turis bird is generally known as the Hen-hawk (Buteo 
borealis). It is so seldom taken in this vicinity that when 
captured the hunters will tell you that they have killed "one 
of the real old-fashioned hen-hawks." 
Having recently had the young of the Red-tailed Hawk 
brought to me as something new and rare, and as there is 
such a dissimilarity between the adult and the young that no 
one except a naturalist would recognize them as the same 
bird, I will give a description of the bird in its different 
plumage, with an account of its habits. 
On the Pacific the Red-tailed Hawk is supplanted by a 
Closely allied species ( Buteo montanus). It is peculiar to 
America, and in its adult plumage is easily recognized from 
any of its genus. It is extremely shy, and not easily taken 
unless approached in a wagon or on horseback. The flight 
of this bird is strong and firm, often sailing to a great dis- 
tance without any apparent motion of its wings. Occasion- 
ally several of them will be seen very high in the air, sailing 
about in circles, sometimes rising in spiral turns, and then 
TE a aimara 

araka according to Act Congress, in the year 1869, by the PEABODY ACADEMY OF 
; in the Clerk’s Office of the Distriet Court of the District E 
AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 50 
