Seen from below the reddish brown underparts and
black and white barred tail will identify adults
of this species. Immature birds are streaked below
with blackish; the tail is dark grayish brown
indistinctly barred, but the shoulder is always
rusty, though this is not a marking one can see in
life. L., male. 18-1/2; female, 20-1/4.
_Range._ Eastern North America from northern
Florida to Canada; resident except in the northern
part of its range.
Washington, common P.R. Ossining, common P.R.
Cambridge, common, Apl.-Nov., less common in
winter. N. Ohio, common P.R. Glen Ellyn, P.R.,
more common than the Red-tail; chiefly T.V.
A medium-sized, heavy-bodied Hawk with wings which, when closed, reach
well toward the tip of the tail. It lives both in the woods and open
places, and may be flushed from the border of a brook or seen soaring
high in the air. 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.