Red-shouldered hawk

“ The Red-shouldered Hawk, or, as I would prefer calling it, the Red-breasted Hawk, although dispersed over the greater part of the United States, is rarely observed in the Middle Districts, where, on the contrary, the Winter Falcon usually makes its appearance from the north, at the approach of every autumn, and is of more common occurrence. ”

“ Its note, frequently uttered, as it swings in wide circles, is a distinctive Kèe-you, Kèe-you, quite unlike the call of any of our other Hawks. It is often well imitated by the Blue Jay. The Red-shoulder feeds chiefly on mice and frogs. It nests in trees 30-60 feet up and, in April, lays 3-5 eggs, white marked with brown.
The Florida Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus alleni) , a smaller form with grayer head and paler underparts, is a resident in Florida and along the coast from South Carolina to Mexico. It nests in February. ”

“ If you could ever creep close enough to a red-shouldered hawk, which is not likely, you would see that it is a powerful bird, about a foot and a half long, dark brown above, the feathers edged with rusty, with bright chestnut patches on the shoulders. ”

“ 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 variation 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. ”

“ Of the largest hawks, there are quite common with us the rough-legged, the red-shouldered, and the redtail: the first is known as the winter hawk, the others are the hated hen hawks, and are hardly to be distinguished one from another. From April to November they may be seen sailing in wide circles over the woods and pastures, or perched on some dead tree from which they may overlook their hunting grounds. ”

“ The red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks are also easily attracted in this manner, but the rough-legged hawks, although they live almost entirely on mice, are not so readily deceived, though this is undoubtedly owing more to their extreme wariness than to any dullness of hearing on their part. ”

“ Last among the winter residents I can merely mention the red-tailed hawk, so named from the deep rufus color of its tail feathers. It is a heavy, robust bird, and while it usually feeds on mice, moles, and shrews that abound in meadows, its depredations on farmyards are not infrequent. It is widely distributed throughout the continent, and abundant here. ”

“ Its bushy tail is beautifully curved along its back, the end of it falling off with a semicircular bend; its nimble feet are seen turning the nut quickly round, and its teeth are already engaged in perforating the hard shell; when, quick as thought, the Red-tailed Hawk, which has been watching it in all its motions, falls upon it, seizes it near the head, transfixes and strangles it, devours it on the spot, or ascends exultingly to a branch with the yet palpitating victim in his talons, and there feasts at leisure. ”

“ Leaving the broken covey to be worked up on our return, we push on to another part of the large pea-field, where, perched upon the topmost limb of a tall dead pine, we see a red-tailed hawk engaged in quiet observation. There is no surer sign of birds, but it takes close hunting to find them, for they dare not move about while their savage enemy is on the watch. ”

“ By intertwining the outer feathers of the wings some birds can remain stationary in the air for hours at a time, not once moving a wing. The razor-billed hawk is the nearest living representative of the extinct great hawk, a bird which, having small wings, could not fly, and soon became extinct. ”

“ It soars to a great height, always endeavoring to get above the bird it is pursuing in order to swoop down upon it from above. It soars in a series of arcs and against the wind, which helps it to rise as it does a kite. [Pg 44] The hawk does not attack its prey with its beak, as is generally supposed, but with its talons. After securing its prey by swooping on it and fastening its claws in its victim it gently descends to the ground.
The young hawk yet in the nest is called an eyas, one that can hop is a brancher, and a young hawk able to catch game is called a soar hawk. ”

“ This species may be called our winter hawk and for this reason the name borealis is most appropriate. “The coldest days of January serve to give this hawk a keener eye and a deeper zest for the chase.” The best locality to seek the Red-tail may be found at the wooded borders of pastures and streams, where it can easily perceive and swoop down upon its prey. It seldom visits a barnyard, but will occasionally catch a fowl that has strayed away from the protection of buildings. Its food consists to a great extent of meadow and other species of mice, rabbits and other rodents. ”

“ UNTIL recently the red-tailed hawk was classified with the obnoxious hawks which prey upon birds and poultry, but the Department of Agriculture instituted an investigation of this species and concluded that it has a far worse reputation with the average farmer than it deserves. The late Major Bendire asserts that, while it does capture a chicken or one of the smaller game birds now and then, it can readily be proved that it is far more beneficial than otherwise and really deserves protection instead of having a bounty placed on its head, as has been the case in several states. ”

“ Every farmer's boy knows this beautiful little rusty-red hawk, with slaty-blue cap and wings, and creamy-buff spotted sides, if not by sight then by sound, as it calls kill-ee, kill-ee kill-ee, across the fields. It does not soar and revolve in a merry-go-round on high like its cousins, but flies swiftly and gracefully, keeping near enough to the ground to see everything that creeps or hops through the grass. ”

“ Legs feathered to the toes. Adults with back, shoulders, thighs and legs, rusty, barred or streaked with black; tail grayish-white, tinged with rusty. Young birds are brownish-black, above and without any rusty below. In the dark phase they are sooty-brown, more or less varied with rusty, and the tail is the same as in the light plumage. Their bill is larger and tail longer than that of the last species. A fairly abundant hawk on the plains and prairies west of the Miss., usually not at a great distance from water. ”

“ All big hawks captured after they have begun to prey for themselves are now commonly called passage hawks, although the name, strictly speaking, may not be at all correct. Wild-caught is a more inclusive term; and it is often used in the case of sparrow-hawks, merlins, and hobbies, when casually caught by bird-catchers or gamekeepers, and not killed in the process. We have seen that passage hawk means properly a hawk caught during the period of her first migration southwards. ”

“ The Red-tailed Hawk is extremely wary, and difficult to be approached by any one bearing a gun, the use of which it seems to understand perfectly; for no sooner does it perceive a man thus armed than it spreads its wings, utters a loud shriek, and sails off in an opposite direction. ”

“ While the Black Hawk was observed to be a bold, vigorous, and spirited bird, easy and swift in its motions, and preying upon other birds while on the wing, the Rough-legged was comparatively sluggish, inoffensive, and subsisted only upon rats, mice, moles, frogs, and other small game. ”

“ Redtail is probably the heaviest of all our hawks, and he shows his weight as he flies, while a pretty large branch may be seen to bend if he lights on it. He has a fierce, long-drawn, savage scream, and his tones are usually angry and harsh. Hen hawks are most abundant during the last part of summer, and at that time if a flock of poultry should stray out into the field a single hawk will sometimes kill two or three of them before they have reached a place of safety. ”

“ The Black-shouldered Hawk is a southern, western, and South American species. On the Pacific it is found to occupy a much more northern range of locality than in the eastern States, where it is not found above South Carolina and Southern Illinois. Specimens have been taken near San Francisco in midwinter. ”

“ The hawks too of this coast do not differ from those of the United States. We here see the large brown hawk, the small or sparrow hawk, and one of an intermediate size, called in the United States, the hen hawk, which has a long tail and blue wings, and is extremely fierce, and rapid in its flight. The hawks, crows, and ravens are common to every part of this country, their nests being scattered in the high cliffs, along the whole course of the Columbia and its southeastern branches. ”

“ The Red-tailed Hawk is a constant resident in the United States, in every part of which it is found. It performs partial migrations, during severe winters, from the Northern Districts towards the Southern. ”

“ It is the only one among the hawks that has not hooked talons; neither is it like the rest of them in the head, or in any other respect, except the color, while in the beak it bears a stronger resemblance to the pigeon. In addition to this, it is devoured by the hawk, if they chance at any time to meet; this being the only one among the whole race of birds that is preyed upon by those of its own kind. ”

“ Males gray; females brown Medium-sized hawk Always with an obvious white rump
During the summer this handsome bird of prey is a familiar sight soaring close to the ground over all large marshy areas. In flight it holds its wings at an angle over its back, rather than parallel to the ground as do most hawks. It mates for life, bringing forth a brood of young once each summer. The nest is quite un-hawk-like, located on the ground and constructed of tall grasses. The Marsh Hawk leaves the area and migrates southward sometime in early September. ”

“ The flight of this elegant species of Hawk is singularly beautiful and protracted. It moves through the air with such ease and grace, that it is impossible for any individual, who takes the least pleasure in observing the manners of birds, not to be delighted by the sight of it whilst on wing. Gliding along in easy flappings, it rises in wide circles to an immense height, inclining in various ways its deeply forked tail, to assist the direction of its course, dives with the rapidity of lightning, and, suddenly checking itself, reascends, soars away, and is soon out of sight. ”

“ The hawk had never before seen a bird like the bright figure standing on the stump, and he paused in his flight, hanging for a moment on motionless wing to scrutinize the strange apparition. But he was hungry, and he considered himself more than a match for anything in feathers except the eagle, the goshawk, and the great horned owl. His hesitation was but for a second, and, with a sudden mighty thrust of his wide wings, he swooped down upon this novel victim.
The big hawk was accustomed to seeing every quarry he stooped at cower paralysed with terror or scurry for shelter in wild panic. ”

“ Should he be approached by an enemy, he rises with it and flies off into the interior of the woods, or if he happens to be in a meadow, to some considerable distance, he being more wary at such times than when he has alighted on a tree.
The Great-footed Hawk is a heavy, compact, and firmly built bird for its size, and when arrived at maturity, extremely muscular, with very tough flesh. ”

“ In full plumage the goshawk is bluish-slate color, and differs from the other large hawks in having shorter wings, longer tail, and yellow or orange-colored eyes.
When flying, the marsh hawk has the appearance of being a large bird, but in weight he would be classed among the smaller hawks. A lean-bodied, loose-jointed, long-limbed bird, he sails along close to the grass, carefully beating over ever foot of ground in his day's hunt. ”

“ From the reading Zan gave us you might be led to think that hawks only inhabited cold countries, but that is not so. They are well distributed over North [307] America and migrate south with other feathered tribes. Some remain permanently in the south. The name sparrow hawk does not signify that he kills our little sparrow, for he does not. He lives mainly on insects. The hawk's nest is generally found in an old tree hollow and the eggs number four to five—brown spotted in colour and thick shelled. ”

“ Perhaps they see him and are quiet for a little, but he sits motionless as the sphinx, and they soon get over their fear and resume their play or feeding. Then suddenly a dark mass swoops down and rises again. It is the hawk, with a small bird grasped in his strong talons, gasping out its last breath. ”

“ The hawk is a bird of prey, feeding on small birds, chickens and mice. In order to secure his prey the hawk holds himself suspended, as it were, in the air on his wide spread wings, until he sees a favourable opportunity, and then suddenly pounces down upon his victim. Other birds well know the predatory habits of the hawk, and when one appears in sight they fly with loud screams of fear. ”

“ Our most abundant hawk is the broad-winged, which will measure about thirty-six inches with wings extended. The plumage of this bird is so dusky as to impart a prevalent brownish color, and the species is distributed generally over eastern North America. Unlike the marsh-hawk, it builds in trees, and Mr. Audubon describes a nest as similar to that of the crow—a resemblance easily accounted for by the frequency with which this hawk will repair crows' nests of former years for its own use. ”