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Red-shouldered Hawk — Part 2
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Swainson's Hawk or Buzzard (Buteo Swainsoni), an infrequent visitor east of the Mississippi, is nevertheless the commonest of all its tribe in some sections of the West. In the many phases of plumage shown between infancy and old age, this large, amiable fellow may always be distinguished by the three notched outer primaries of his wings taken in connection with his size, about twenty inches, and his dusky brown upper parts more or less margined with rufous or buff; the unbarred primaries of wings; his grayish tail indistinctly barred with blackish, which shows more plainly from the under side; the large rusty patch on his breast, and by the white or buff under parts that are streaked, spotted, or barred with blackish, rusty, or buff. Preeminently a prairie bird, it prefers the watercourses of lowlands that are scantily timbered and the cultivated fields for hunting grounds, since mice, gophers, frogs, grasshoppers, crickets, and such fare--rarely if ever a bird--are what it is ever seeking. Therefore from the most selfish of economic standpoints it should enjoy the fullest protection. Gentle, unsuspicious, living on excellent terms with its humblest feathered neighbor, mated for life to its larger spouse, and an unselfish, devoted parent, Swainson's hawk has more than the average number of virtues to commend it to mankind.