THE RED-SHOULDERED HAWK. 
I HE Hawk family is an inter- 
4 I esting one and many of them 
qJ I are beautiful. The Red- 
~~ shouldered Hawk is one of 
the finest specimens of these birds, as 
well as one of the most useful. Of 
late years the farmer has come to know 
it as his friend rathei than his enemy, 
as formerly. It inhabits the wood- 
lands where it feeds chiefly upon 
Squirrels, Rabbits, Mice, Moles, and 
Lizards. It occasionally drops down 
on an unlucky Duck or Bob White, 
though it is not quick enough to catch 
the smaller birds. It is said to be 
destructive to domestic fowls raised in 
or near the timber, but does not appear 
to search for food far away from its 
natural haunts. As it is a very noisy 
bird, the birds which it might destroy 
are warned of its approach, and thus 
protect themselves. 
During the early nesting season its 
loud, harsh kee-oo is heard from the 
perch and while in the air, often keep- 
ing up the cry for a long time without 
intermission. Col. Goss says that he 
collected at Neosho Falls, Kansas, for 
several successive years a set of the 
eggs of this species from a nest in the 
forks of a medium sized oak. In 
about nine days after each robbery the 
birds would commence laying again, 
and he allowed them to hatch and 
rear their young. One winter during 
his absence the tree was cut down, 
but this did not discourage the birds, 
or cause them to forsake the place, for 
on approach of spring he found them 
building a nest not over ten rods from 
the old one, but this time in a large 
sycamore beyond reach. This seemed 
to him to indicate that they become 
greatly attached to the grounds selected 
for a home, which they vigilantly 
guard, not permitting a bird of prey to 
come within their limits. 
This species is one of the commonest 
in the United States, being especially 
abundant in the winter, from which it 
receives the name of Winter Falcon. 
The name of Chicken Hawk is often 
applied to it, though it does not deserve 
the name, its diet being of a more 
humble kind. 
The eggs are usually deposited in 
April or May in numbers of three or 
four — sometimes only two. The 
ground color is bluish, yellowish-white 
or brownish, spotted, blotched and 
dotted irregularly with many shades 
of reddish brown. Some of them are 
strikingly beautiful. According to 
Davie, to describe all the shades of reds 
and browns which comprise the varia- 
tion would be an almost endless task, 
and a large series like this must be 
seen in order to appreciate how much 
the eggs of this species vary. 
The flight of the Red-shouldered 
Hawk is slow, but steady and strong 
with a regular beat of the wings. 
They take delight in sailing in the 
air, where they float lightly and with 
scarcely a notable motion of the wings, 
often circling to a great height. Dur- 
ing the insect season, while thus sail- 
ing, they often fill their craws with 
grass-hoppers, that, during the after 
part of the day, also enjoy an air sail. 
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