Color Key to North American Birds Part 37

[Ill.u.s.tration: 337.]

=337 Red-tailed Hawk= (_Buteo borealis_). L. [Male], 20; [Female], 23.

_Four_ outer primaries notched. _Ads._ Tail rusty brown with a black band, sometimes broken, near its tip; below buffy white, a band of spots across the belly; legs usually without bars. _Yng._ Tail grayish brown with a rusty tinge and numerous blackish bars; upper tail-coverts barred black and white; below less buffy than in adult; legs more often barred. _Notes._ A shrill whistle, suggesting the sound of escaping steam.

Range.--Eastern North America, west to the Great Plains, north to about lat.i.tude 60; breeds throughout its range; winters from Ma.s.sachusetts, Illinois and South Dakota southward.

=337a. Krider Hawk= (_B. b. kriderii_). Similar to No. 337, but nearly or wholly white below. _Ads._ Usually without black tail band.

Range.--"Great Plains of United States from Minnesota to Texas;, east irregularly or casually to Iowa and northern Illinois." (Bendire).

[Ill.u.s.tration: 337b.]

=337b. Western Red-tail= (_B. b. calurus_). Very variable in color.

_Ads._ Sometimes sooty brown above and below with more or less rusty; in light phase resembles No. 337, but tail _averages_ paler and sometimes has more than one bar; the underparts are deeper and legs are usually _barred with rusty_. _Yng._ Similar to _Yng._ of No. 337, but markings below heavier; flanks more barred.

Range.--Western North America from Rocky Mountains to Pacific; north to British Columbia, south to central America; generally resident.

=337d. Harlan Hawk= (_B. b. harlani_). _Ads._ Above sooty brown; tail closely _mottled_ with blackish, rusty and whitish; below varying from white, more or less-spotted on belly to sooty brown. _Yng._ Similar, but tail barred with blackish, gray, rusty or whitish.

Range.--"Gulf States and Lower Mississippi Valley, north (casually) to Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Pennsylvania; east to Georgia, and Florida." (Bendire).

Hawks

[Ill.u.s.tration: 339.]

=339. Red-shouldered Hawk= (_Buteo lineatus_). L. [Male], 18.3; [Female], 20.3. _Four_ outer primaries notched. _Ads._ Lesser wing-coverts bright reddish brown. _Yng._ Below whitish _streaked_ with brownish; lesser wing-coverts less reddish; primaries with _rusty buff_. _Notes._ A loud screaming _kee-yer_, _kee-yer_.

Range.--Eastern United States to Oklahoma, eastern Kansas, eastern Nebraska and Minnesota, north to Maine, south to northern Florida; generally resident.

=339a. Florida Red-shouldered Hawk= (_B. l. alleni_). Smaller than No. 339. (W. [Male], 11.) _Ad._ Much grayer above, no rusty on head, much paler below.

Range.--Florida north along coast to South Carolina; west along coast to eastern Texas.

=339b. Red-bellied Hawk= (_B. l. elegans_). Similar to No. 339, but rusty of breast usually unbroken. Young with lower parts deep brownish or dusky prevailing; less buff on primaries. (Ridgw.)

Range.--Pacific coast from Lower California north to British Columbia; east rarely to Colorado and western Texas.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 342.]

=342. Swainson Hawk= (_Buteo swainsoni_). L. [Male], 20. _Three_ outer primaries notched. _Ad._ [Male]. Breast patch rusty brown. _Ad._ [Female]. Breast-patch grayish brown. Dark phase. Brownish black more or less varied with rusty; tail obscurely barred. _Yng._ Below _rich_ rusty buff with elongate black spots. _Notes._ _Pi-tick_, _pi-tick_, frequently repeated. (Bendire.)

Range.--"Western North America from Wisconsin, Illinois, Arkansas and Texas to the Pacific coast; north to Arctic regions and south to Argentine Republic, casual east to Maine and Ma.s.sachusetts. Breeds nearly throughout its North American range." (A.O.U.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: 343.]

=343. Broad-winged Hawk= (_Buteo platypterus_). L. [Male], 15.8; [Female], 16.7. _Three_ outer primaries notched. _Ads._ Tail with two whitish bands and a brownish tip; below _barred_ with rusty brown.

_Yng._ _No_ buff in primaries; tail brownish with several black bars; below whitish, streaked with blackish. _Notes._ A high, sharp, keen, penetrating whistle.

Range.--Eastern North America, breeds west to Plains, north to New Brunswick and Saskatchewan; winters from southern New Jersey south to northern South America.

Hawks and Caracara

[Ill.u.s.tration: 340.]

=340. Zone-tailed Hawk= (_Buteo abbreviatus_). L. [Male], 19; [Female], 21. _Ads._ Tail with little if any white tip; _inner_ webs of all but middle feathers with black and white bars. _Yng._ Browner; tail grayish brown; white on inner webs, with numerous blackish bars.

_Notes._ Not unlike those of _Buteo borealis_. (Belding.)

Range.--Tropical America north to southern Texas, southern Arizona and southern California.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 344. Dark Phase.]

=344. Short-tailed Hawk= (_Buteo brachyurus_). L. 17; T. 7. _Ads._ Above slaty gray, tail barred with black and tipped with white; sides of breast rusty; rest of underparts _white_. Dark phase. Blackish, forehead whitish; tail lighter than back, barred with black. _Yng._ Above blackish brown, below cream buff, _without_ black markings.

_Notes._ Somewhat resembling the scream of the Red-shouldered Hawk, but more prolonged. (Pennock.)

Range.--Tropical America, north to eastern Mexico; rare in Florida.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 345.]

=345. Mexican Black Hawk= (_Urubitinga anthracina_). L. [Male], 19; [Female], 21. _Ads._ Tail with a white tip and broad white band across _all_ the feathers. _Yng._ Above brownish black, buff and rusty; below buffy striped with blackish; tail with several black and whitish bars.

_Notes._ Piping cries like the spring whistle of _Numenius longirostris_. (Bendire.)

Range.--"Tropical America in general, north to central Arizona, and the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas." (Bendire).

[Ill.u.s.tration: 362.]

=362. Audubon Caracara= (_Polyborus cheriway_). L. 22. Tail white with a black end and numerous black bars. _Ads._ Breast and hindneck barred; belly black. _Yng._ Crown, back, and belly dark brown; hindneck, breast and belly _streaked_ with buffy. _Notes._ Generally silent, but sometimes utters a prolonged cackling note. (B. F. Goss.)

Range.--Northern South America, north to southern Texas, southern Arizona and Lower California; interior of southern Florida; resident.

=363. Guadalupe Caracara= (_Polyborus lutosus_). Resembles No. 362, but has rump and upper tail-coverts dull brownish buff broadly barred with dull brown; tail brownish buff with broad bars of grayish brown bordered by narrower zigzag bars or lines of dusky; terminal band less than 2.00 wide. (Ridgway.)

Range.--Guadalupe Island, west of Lower California.

Hawks

[Ill.u.s.tration: 341.]

=341. Sennett White-tailed Hawk= (_Buteo albicaudatus sennetti_).

L. [Male], 21; [Female], 23. Three outer primaries cut. _Ads._ Grayish slate above. _Yng._ Above brownish black; breast usually white, throat blackish, belly heavily marked with rusty and blackish; sometimes wholly black below; tail generally _silvery gray_., white on inner webs with numerous indistinct blackish bars. _Notes._ A cry much like the bleating of a goat (Merrill.)

Range.--"From southern Texas and Arizona south to Mexico." (Bailey.)