Bethel, Maine. 
1907 
July 18-22 
Buteo platypterus . 
A pair of Broad-winged Hawks were haunting the swampy 
woods below the orchard where I saw them repeatedly and often heard 
their shrill cries. Once both birds were.in sig^t at once, soaring 
above the trees. Whenever I saw them on wing they were pursued 
arjld harried by one or more Crows who attacked them after the man¬ 
ner of Kingbirds rising above and swooping down at them, occasion¬ 
ally picking their heads or backs. The Hawks bore this persecution 
with admirable equanimity paying little or no heed to it unless 
actually struck by the Crows when they would sometimes change their 
course or even throw - themselves quickly upward or to one side with 
an abrupt jerk. The ordinary flight of the Broad-wing is smooth 
and graceful if somewhat slow. It can glide through the densest 
woods, on set wings, with remarkable ease and swiftness. It soars 
in circles, high in air, quite as impressively as the Red-tailed 
or Red-shouldered Hawks, but rather less often, I think. It is a 
much less wide ranger than either of the species just mentioned. 
Indeed it seldom goes more than a mile and often not half-a-mile 
from its nest or favorite roosting place, in pursuit of food. All 
this I have noted at Bethel during the past few days as well as on 
previous occasions at Concord and elsewhere. 
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