Rufleg Hawk

The RUFLEG HAWK breeds in Alaska and Canada and is but a winter migrant to the States. Its favorite haunts are in open meadows or in country covered with scrub and brush. It is the most nocturnal of our Hawks. Its plumage is soft and fluffy, its flight noiseless and when observed in the twilight, sweeping quietly over the open spaces where field mice abound, it is easily mistaken for an Owl. When mice are abundant, one or two Ruflegs will hunt for weeks in the vicinity, effectually controling these pests and saving many fruit trees, especially young ones, from destruction. While watching for rabbits on moonlit nights I have more than once been startled by the sudden appearance of a dark form swooping noiselessly down on a luckless mouse playing on the snow crust. A swift dash — a tiny squeak — then the quick disappearance of captor and victim in the shadows.