HAWKS, EAGLES, KITES: SWAINSON HAWK 169 
Though a few probably remain in New Mexico through the winter, most of 
them go far south, even to South America. They were still common the middle of 
October, 1905, in the foothill region of the Datil and Gallina Mountains (Hollister). 
A single bird wintered on the Mimbres 1852-1853 (Henry); [one seen December 
6, 1918, at Engle, and great numbers January 5-7, 1919, between Carlsbad and the 
San Simon Ranch (Ligon)].— W . W. Cooke. 
A hawk described from near Fort Webster by Cassin as Buteo oxypterus proves 
to be the same as Buteo swainsoni. 
Nest. —Most commonly in New Mexico in mesquite, catsclaw and bushes, 
but also in tall soap weeds (yuccas), the thick foliage of young cottonwoods, and 
sometimes on a cliff; made of sticks lined largely with green leaves and bark and 
sometimes with grass or fur. Eggs: 2 to 4, greenish, buffy, or pure white, usually 
moderately marked with brown and gray. 
Food. —Almost entirely small rodents—ground squirrels, mice, and gophers— 
grasshoppers, and crickets; lives largely on grasshoppers in summer and fall. Nests 
found by Mr. Ligon, June 18 and 19, 1918, contained young cottontail rabbits, a 
Scaled Quail, and the tail of a large blue lizard. Wherever there is a visitation of 
grasshopper, they are sure to congregate. 
General Habits. —Both in the treeless parts of the west and also in 
wooded regions, the Swainson is one of the more common large hawks, of 
good habits. As Doctor Fisher states, it “ rarely touches poultry, game, 
or small birds/ 1 and he adds that in the southwest he as well as others 
have “often seen the nests of small birds in the same trees and in close 
proximity to the nests of the Hawks, the birds apparently living in 
perfect harmony” (1907, p. 9). 
At Mesilla Park, Professor Merrill notes the Swainsons are not so 
abundant as the Red-tails. Their habits are similar, however, both 
being residents and both being found on the mesa and in the trees border¬ 
ing streams. An interesting nest with eggs, to be seen in the college 
museum, was taken in May. The nest is bulky but shallow, made 
mainly of creosote twigs with a few dead cholla canes and some sun¬ 
flower stalks, lined with corn husks and amole fibers (MS). In nests 
containing young, Mr. Ligon has found remains of snakes, lizards, 
young rabbits, and ground squirrels (MS). 
In summer, in the Jornada Valley, Sierra and Dona Ana Counties, 
Mr. Ligon found the Swainsons fairly common, while early in fall they 
became abundant, moving over the flats and hills in great flocks, feeding 
on the big grasshoppers. In describing a flock seen in the Bear Spring 
Mountains, Mr. Hollister said that during a heavy windstorm over a 
hundred passed above his camp. As he reported, “ I counted forty at one 
time near the camp, some high and others down among the trees, and 
they were one hour or more in passing, as the movement of the flock 
from northeast to southwest was very slow, the birds continually circling. 
But few were seen to light, but the stomach and crop of the one shot were 
filled with grasshoppers” (MS). 
