347a. Archibuteo lagopus sancti-johannis. 22 in.
Legs feathered to the toes. Adults blackish on the back and belly; head and breast, more or less grayish-white, streaked with dusky; tail white, barred on the end with black; eyes brown. In the dark phase they are blackish-brown, more or less mixed with rusty. This large, heavily-built species is found in the United States, only in winter; it frequents thinly wooded districts or meadows, where it catches its prey, which consists of small rodents, insects and reptiles. It is very irregular in its appearance, especially in the east, but it is most often found near the coast. It is a sluggish species and I doubt if it does any harm to wild birds or to poultry; it certainly does a great deal of good.
Nest.—Of sticks, on rocky ledges; eggs bluish-white, boldly splashed with brown (1.90 × 1.55).
Range.—Breeds north of the United States border; winters in northern United States.
FERRUGINOUS ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK
348. Archibuteo ferrugineus. 23 in.
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.
Nest.—Usually on the ground on bluffs or rocky ledges, but sometimes in trees; made of sticks and weeds; sometimes used year after year, and then becoming bulky, as it is added to each year; eggs white, handsomely spotted and blotched with blackish-brown, very variable.
Range.—Breeds west of the Miss., from Kansas, locally, and the Dakotas, abundantly, north to Saskatchewan. Winters south to Mexico.