The Bird Book Part 42

337d. HARLAN'S HAWK. _Buteo borealis harlani._

Range.--Gulf States and southward, north to Kansas.

This dark sub-species is generally nearly uniform blackish, but sometimes is lighter or even white below. Its tail is rusty, mottled with blackish and white. Its nesting habits are the same and the eggs are not distinguishable from those of the other Red-tails.

339. RED-SHOULDERED HAWK. _Buteo lineatus lineatus._

Range.--North America, east of the Plains and from the southern parts of the British Provinces southward; abundant and breeding throughout its range.

This species is smaller than the Red-tailed and is not as powerfully built; length 19 inches. The adults are handsomely barred beneath with reddish brown, giving the entire underparts a ruddy color. Like the last species, they rarely feed upon poultry, confining their diet chiefly to mice, rats, frogs, reptiles, etc. These Hawks nest in the larger growths of timber, usually building their nests high above the ground. The nest is of sticks, and lined with leaves, weeds and pieces of bark. They lay three or four eggs with a white ground color, variously blotched and spotted, either sparingly or heavily, with different shades of brown.

Size 2.15 1.75. Data.--Kalamazoo, Michigan, April 25, 1898. Nest about 40 feet up in an oak tree; made of sticks and twigs and lined with bark.

Four eggs. Collector, J. C. Holmes.

339a. Florida Red-shouldered Hawk. _Buteo lineatus alleni._

Range.--Florida and the Gulf coast; north to South Carolina. The nesting habits of this paler sub-species are precisely like those of the last species.

[Ill.u.s.tration 211: Red-shouldered Hawk.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: White.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: deco.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: right hand margin.]

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[Ill.u.s.tration 212: Geo. L. Fordyce.

NEST AND EGGS OF RED-SHOULDERED HAWK.]

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339b. RED-BELLIED HAWK. _Buteo lineatus elegans._

Range.--Pacific coast from British Columbia south to Lower California, chiefly west of the Rockies.

This variety is similar to, but darker than lineatus, and the underparts are a uniform reddish brown, without barring. Their nests are like those of the Red-shouldered variety, and almost always placed high up in the largest trees. The eggs are very similar, but average lighter in markings. Size 2.15 1.70. Data.--Diego, Cal., April 13, 1897. Nest in a sycamore 20 feet from ground, made of sticks, leaves and feathers.

340. Zone-tailed Hawk. _Buteo abbreviatus._

Range.--Mexico and Central America, north to the Mexican border of the United States.

This species, which is 19 inches long, is wholly black with the exception of the tail, which is banded. Their nests are built in heavy woods, and preferably in trees along the bank of a stream. The nest is of the usual Hawk construction and the two to four eggs are white, faintly marked with pale chestnut. Data.--Marathon, Texas. Nest of sticks, lined with weeds and rabbit fur; on a horizontal branch of a cotton-wood tree, 30 feet up.

[Ill.u.s.tration 213: White.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 339b--340.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: White,]

[Ill.u.s.tration: right hand margin.]

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341. SENNETT'S WHITE-TAILED HAWK. _Buteo albicaudatus sennetti._

Range.--Mexican border of the United States and southward.

A large, handsome Hawk which may be identified by its dark upper parts and white underparts and tail, the flanks and tail being lightly barred with grayish; the shoulders are chestnut. It is especially abundant in the southern parts of Texas, where it builds its nests of sticks and weeds, lined with gra.s.ses, leaves and moss. They nest in March and April, laying two, or rarely three, eggs which are a dull white, and generally immaculate, but occasionally faintly or sparingly spotted with brown. Size of eggs 2.25 1.80.

342. SWAINSON'S HAWK. _Buteo swainsoni._

Range.--Central and western North America, from the Mississippi Valley and Hudson Bay, to the Pacific coast, breeding throughout its range.

In the greater part of its range, this is the most abundant of the Hawk family. Its plumage is extremely variable, showing all the intergradations from a uniform sooty blackish to the typical adult plumage of a grayish above, and a white below, with a large breast patch of rich chestnut. Their nesting habits are as variable as their plumage.

In some localities, they nest exclusively in trees, in others indifferently upon the ground or rocky ledges. The nest is the usual Hawk structure of sticks; the eggs are white, variously splashed and spotted with reddish brown and umber. Size 2.20 1.70. Data.--Stark Co., N. D., May 21, 1897. Nest of sticks, lined with weeds in an ash tree. Collector, Roy Dodd.

[Ill.u.s.tration 214: Sennett's White-tailed Hawk.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: White.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Swainson's Hawk.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: left hand margin,]

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343. BROAD-WINGED HAWK. _Buteo platypterus._

Range.--North America, east of the Plains, and from the British Provinces southward.

A medium sized species, about 16 inches in length, and with a short tail and broad rounded wings; adults have the underparts handsomely barred with brown. Their nests are usually built in large trees, but generally placed against the trunk in the crotch of some of the lower branches. It is made of sticks and almost invariably lined with bark. The two to four eggs are of a grayish white color, marked with chestnut, brown and stone gray; size 1.90 1.55. Data.--Worcester, Ma.s.s., May 16, 1895. Nest about 20 feet up in a large chestnut tree. The birds continually circled overhead, their weird cries sounding like the creaking of branches.

Collector, A. J. White.

344. SHORT-TAILED HAWK. _Buteo brachyurus._

Range.--A tropical species, which occurs north to the Mexican border and regularly to southern Florida, where it breeds in the large cypress swamps. Its eggs are pale greenish white, sparingly spotted with brown, chiefly at the large end. Size 2.15 1.60.

345. MEXICAN BLACK HAWK. _Urubitinga anthracina._

Range.--Mexican border of the United States and southward.

A coal black species about 22 inches in length, distinguished by the white tip, and broad white band across the tail about midway. This is one of the least abundant of the Mexican species that cross the border.

They are shy birds and build their nests in the tallest trees in remote woods. Their two or three eggs are grayish white, faintly spotted with pale brown; size 2.25 1.80. Data.--Los Angeles County, Cal., April 6, 1889. Nest of sticks, lined with bark and leaves; 45 feet up in a sycamore tree. Collector, R. B. Chapman.

[Ill.u.s.tration 215: Grayish white.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: American Rough-legged Hawk.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Grayish white.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: right hand margin.]

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