124 
FALCON IFORMES 
of the Red-shouldered Hawk, which is confined to eastern Canada, these 
feather groups are usually solidly coloured, with little barring and, from 
underneath, with more or less of a white area at their bases. Most western 
representatives of this group show remarkable dichromatism, one extreme 
of which is very dark brown, almost black, and substantially alike in all 
species affected. The two Rough-legs and one species of eagle have tarsus 
feathered to the base of the toes (Figures 190 and 196). 
Field Marks, Round, broad wings; broad, full tail (Figures 174 — 4 and 175 — 5 and 
7), and habit of soaring high in the open make the best field marks for the buzzards. 
These are the true buzzards. The Turkey Vulture is incorrectly called "buzzard” 
in the south. Buzzards lack the dash, speed, and spirit of either the Accipiters or the 
falcons and specialize on less active game. They often feed on insects and occasionally 
on carrion. They are the common high-flying hawks of summer, and can be seen circling 
high in the air or perched sentinel-like on fence or telegraph pole, scanning the open land- 
scape. They are birds of the open, as the Accipiters are of the brush, and are not given to 
quick dashes through the shrubbery like their agile relatives. They are the hawks that 
build the great, bulky nests in the larger trees of the prairie bluffs, in the coul6es, or on the 
ground on steep hillsides. 
Economic Status. As a class the buzzards are the most useful as well 
as the largest of our hawks. Some of the largest of them have scarcely a 
black mark against them. They live throughout the summer almost 
entirely on rodents. Although there is a slight reservation in the approval 
with which the Red-tailed Hawk is regarded in the east, there is no doubt 
as to its usefulness throughout the prairie region, as it is amongst the fore- 
most of gopher destroyers. Wherever rodent vermin is an important 
agricultural factor, this group of hawks may be regarded as valuable allies 
of the farmer. Its members have a marked preference for furred, over 
feathered, game, and their large size and capacity ensure that their activities 
are on sufficient scale to be of value. 
Figure 184 
Four notched primaries of Red-tailed Hawk; scale, §. 
337. Red -tailed Hawk, hen hawk, la buse a queue housse, Iiuteo borealis. 
L, 20. Plate XIII B. One of our two largest buzzards. Characteristic adults have brick- 
red tails, but western birds are so variable that this or any colour character make uncertain 
criterion for identification. Though in the east the Ited-tailed is practically constant in 
coloration, its only marked variation being two age-plumages, in the west the case is quite 
different. In the east the adult is a brown hawk largely white or cream coloured below, 
with a solidly red tail. The juvenile is similar, but blacker and whiter and the tail is 
barred with lighter and darker colours of the back. The western bird not only shows 
similar two age-plumages, but also appears in two distinct colorations, one of which is 
solidly near-black, with many intermediates between it and a much whiter opposite extreme, 
thus making an almost infinite number of colour variations. As three other western 
species of comparable size show a similar dichromatism and are inseparable from the 
Ited-tailed by colour in the dark phase, the difficulty in distinguishing the species is great. 
Fortunately there are other characters besides colour to assist in identification. 
The Red-tail plumage that is most common in western Canada is hardly distinguish- 
able from the eastern bird. The juvenile above is solidly dark brown, almost black, 
from crown to tail inclusive, the latter being barred regularly with still darker shades. 
All below is white, with sides of breast, flanks, and a broken area on upper abdomen striped 
with dark. Some intermixture of white or cream can be expected on crown and back. 
The adult of this juvenile is, in general, similar, but redder above, more creamy below, with 
