9 
Plate XLIX. 
Fig 4. BUTEO BOREALIS-Red-tailed Hawk. 
The Red-tailed Hawk, or Hen Hawk, is a very common and well-known bird. It builds its nest in 
March, or earlier. The young are generally hatched about the 20th of April. But one brood is reared 
by each pair during the season. 
LOCALITY : 
The nest is always placed in a tree, generally at the edge of thick woods, but sometimes in the in- 
terior. Occasionally an isolated tree, or one in very open timber-land is selected for the site. The large 
sycamores in river bottoms furnish secure and favorite situations; 
POSITION : 
The nest is generally situated near the top of the tree, in a perpendicular crotch formed by two or 
more branches; but, sometimes, it is built at the bifurcation of a horizontal limb, and is held in posi- 
tion by small perpendicular twigs. It is not often within fifty feet of the ground; and, ordinarily, is as 
much higher as the selected tree will permit. 
MATERIALS: 
Rough sticks compose the bulk of the nest. These are crossed and tangled into a large and firm 
platform, concave on top, between two and three feet in diameter, and from a few inches to a foot or 
more in depth. The lining consists of corn-husks, corn-silk, strips of grape-vine bark, feathers, leaves, 
weed-stems, and like material. The concavity of some nests is well lined, and measures several inches 
in depth; in others it is poorly lined, and bu't slightly concave. 
EGGS: 
The complement of eggs is commonly three ; occasionally one more or less. They measure in long- 
diameter from 2.15 to 2.60, and in short-diameter from 1.80 to 2.00 inches. The majority of eggs are 
between 2.30 and 2.50 in long-diameter, and between 1.85 and 1.95 in short-diameter. The ground-color 
is either chalky white, a light tint of yellowish-brown, or, as is generally the case, dirty, or soiled 
white. Some eggs are unmarked. Some are marked with indistinct blotches and spots of ochre; and 
others are variously blotched, spotted, and speckled with reddish-brown or yellowish-brown. One egg in 
my cabinet is unmarked, except by indistinct clouds of yellowish-brown. One is marked principally 
about the point, by a number of large, bold blotches of ochre. One has seven large blotches, and about 
twice as many spots of reddish-brown, besides a blotch of ochre about an inch in diameter, and a num- 
ber of rather distinct, purplish deep shell-marks. And one is sparingly marked by small round blotches 
of yellowish-brown. The shell of the egg is granular, often even quite rough. The blotches, except the 
177 
