The Marsh Hawk is the most harmless and beneficial of its family; it feeds upon reptiles, locusts, grasshoppers, and small mammals, and never disturbs domestic poultry.
In this locality it is more plentiful in the bogs near fresh ponds, and in the vicinity of rivers, than in the salt-marshes.
It is the summer-day Hawk, and the species most frequently seen in the warmest months. It flies by night as well as day, however, and is often a companion of the Screech Owl in its nocturnal rambles.
Length: 18-19 inches. Also miscalled “Hen-hawk.” The Sharp-shinned Hawk and Cooper’s Hawk are the real “Hen-hawks.”
Male: Grayish brown above; feathers edged with rusty brown; wings barred black and white; “shoulder” rusty red; tail black, and barred and tipped with slate; black streaks on throat; underparts buff.
One of the large Hawks; to be distinguished by a rust-red shoulder patch; is the most common of the long, broad-winged Buzzard Hawks that are seen flying in circles in the days of autumn and early spring. It kills field-mice and other gnawers.
Length: 10 inches.
Male: Reddish back barred with black; reddish tail, with black band and white tip; head with reddish spot on crown, slaty blue, as are also wings, the latter having white bars; a black mark back and front of ear; underparts varying from cream to buff.