Even at a distance the bright reddish coloration of the underparts of the adult Red-shoulder should serve to distinguish it. The bird student will do well to remember that the Red-shoulder and Red-tail customarily choose prominent perches from which to watch for prey, whereas the Cooper’s Hawk, Sharp-shin, and Goshawk almost never choose such lookout posts. A large Hawk seen on a dead stub in the open is almost certainly either a Red-shoulder or a Red-tail. The flying Red-shoulder circles more rapidly than does the Red-tail, and with a glass the dark, white-barred tail should be seen easily.
It is fond of snakes, frogs, and mice, which it captures usually in the lowlands. Occasionally it catches a bird or young poultry, but it visits the farms only when food is scarce in its wilder habitat. Young Red-shoulders whose stomachs I examined at Pymatuning Swamp had eaten only grasshoppers, field-mice, snakes, frogs, and beetles.
The Red-shoulder’s loud, clear scream, when familiar to the bird student, is diagnostic. The Blue Jay can imitate this scream almost perfectly, however, so the bird student must use care in recording the species from call-note alone. This species, while for the most part innocent in food habits, is not protected in Pennsylvania.
BROAD-WINGED HAWK
Buteo platypterus platypterus (Vieillot)
Other Names.—Chicken Hawk; Pigeon Hawk (erroneous).
Description.—The Broad-wing, because of its name, is often thought to be one of our largest hawks, but in reality it is one of the smaller species, being about the size of a Crow. Adults: Gray-brown above; throat white; malar region blackish; tail crossed with three distinct and rather broad white bands; underparts warm brown, the belly and sides heavily barred with white, the under tail-coverts largely whitish; cere and feet yellowish green; eyes dark brown. Immature: Dark brown, with head and neck considerably streaked; wing-coverts edged with buffy white; underparts buffy white, heavily streaked with black; tail grayish, marked with five or six black bands. Length: Male, 16 inches; female, 17 inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—An uncommon and local summer resident from about April 20 to October 1. This hawk is not found in winter in Pennsylvania, for it migrates to Central America during the cold months.
Nest.—A platform of sticks, usually placed in a large crotch of a deciduous tree, and not often at great height from the ground. An old Crow nest is sometimes used. Eggs: 2 to 4, whitish, spotted and blotched, sometimes very handsomely, with rich brown.
A small hawk with wide wings, short tail, and the general appearance of a Red-tail is likely to be a Broad-wing. Look for it about deciduous woodlands. Its scream is feeble. It nests in woodlands not far from Pittsburgh.
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK
Archibuteo lagopus sancti-johannis (Gmelin)
Other Name.—Chicken Hawk.
Description.—Larger than a Red-tail; two distinct types of plumage, one light, one dark; feet, down to the very toes, fully feathered. Light phase of plumage: Head and neck black, boldly streaked with white; back dark brown; tail white at base, black on terminal third; breast and throat buffy, broadly streaked with black; feathers of leg buffy, spotted with blackish; belly and under tail-coverts black; wing-linings white, with black spots at wrist and black tips on all primaries and secondaries; cere and feet yellowish; eyes dark brown. Dark phase: Brownish black, spotted irregularly with white on belly, the tail marked with three or four narrow whitish bands. Length: About 22 inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—A rare and irregular winter visitor from the far North, usually seen in the more northerly counties and in fairly open country.
The great Rough-leg will perch on a hay-stack or a low stump in an open field in preference to a high stub. In searching for prey, it beats over the ground in the manner of the Marsh Hawk. It is distinctly beneficial in food habits. In any plumage the bird in the hand may be recognized by the feathered feet; in the field the distinctly black underparts are diagnostic. Unfortunately, this species is not protected at the present time in Pennsylvania.