BUZZARD HAWKS 
127 
season if spared, should more than counterbalance any injuries it may 
inflict in the meanwhile. Where rodents are a serious economic problem, 
as in the west, the Red-tailed Hawk is too valuable to be destroyed except 
under severe provocation. 
339. Red-shouldered Hawk, la buse a epaulettes rousses. Buteo lineatus. L, 
18-30. Plate XIV A. Smaller than the Red-tailed or Swainson’s Hawks, but larger than 
the Broad-winged. The juvenile is coloured much like the young, tight phases of those 
birds. Adults are solidly light tawny rufous below, more or less softly barred with lighter, 
and lined with fine, dark, shaft streaks. Tail and wings are barred with dark and light, 
decidedly so in the adult, less in the juvenile. 
Figure 18(5 
Red-shouldered Hawk (juvenile); scale, T V 
Appearance in flight. 
Distinctions. Separated from all comparable hawks except the Red-tailed by having 
four instead of three first primaries einarginate (like Figure 184). In nearly all plumages, 
the shoulders or lesser wing-coverts are strongly rusty. 
Field Marks. Only to he expected in the east where the Red-tail, which it may re- 
semble in size, is the most serious cause of confusion. The best field mark when soaring, 
as it is most commonly seen, is the white or translucent spot at the base of the primaries. 
The juvenile is more evenly and sharply striped on the body than any Red-tail and, besides 
being larger, the wings and tail are more sharply and narrowly barred than the Broad- 
wing (.See Figure 186, compare with 185 and 187). In the adult the strong, rufous under- 
parts and the red shoulders when seen are distinctive from either of the above. Too rare 
in western Canada to be identified there by sight. 
Distribution. Eastern North America, north to the spruce forest. West to western 
Ontario. Also the Californian coast. Its presence in Manitoba has been suspected but 
never demonstrated. Sight records of its occurrence on the southern British Columbian 
coast have been reported, but are withdrawn by the observer and may be disregarded. 
It should be looked for carefully, especially in Manitoba, but identified with caution. 
SUBSPECIES. The eastern and California members of this species, though entirely 
isolated from each other, are yet listed as subspecies of a single species. The western form, 
known as the Red-bellied Hawk (la Buse a poitrine rouge) Buteo lineatus elegans, differs 
from the Northern Red-shouldered (la Buse k epaulettes rousses du Nord) Buteo lineatus 
lineatus in being considerably richer and brighter in colour and seems to have different 
habits and bearing. It is described as being owl-like in flight, which cannot be said of the 
eastern bird, and the two forms may yet prove to be specifically distinct. It has been 
listed as a British Columbian species, but its occurrence there is extremely doubtful. 
This is probably the most common hawk in eastern Canada. It is 
similar in habit to the Red-tailed except that it does not insist upon deep 
woods for its nesting habitat but will build in almost any little patch of 
woodland, sometimes in surprising proximity to settlement. 
Economic Status. This species is, fundamentally, very similar in 
its food habits to the Red-tailed, but being a much smaller and lighter 
bird the damage it can do is proportionately less, whereas its good offices 
76916— 9J 
