1778 The Cornell Reading-Courses 



He had seen it, he claimed, fly down into the chicken yard, and he naturally 

 believed that it was to be blamed for the disappearance of his chickens. 

 Inasmuch as this species of hawk has never been known to feed 

 on poultry, the writer was inclined to doubt that the farmer had 

 located the real thief; and an examination of the bird's stomach proved 

 the surmise to be correct, for it contained only four large June beetles 

 (the larvae of which, known as white grubs, do considerable damage to the 

 roots of strawberries and other crops) and the hair of a meadow mouse. 

 The chickens had probably been taken by the smaller and much less con- 

 spicuous sharp-shinned hawk, which had slipped away without being 

 seen, while the more conspicuous and highly beneficial broad-wing had 

 paid the penalty. Another case is cited by Sylvester D. Judd in his 

 " Birds of a Maryland Farm." In this case the catbirds, which were 

 abundant about a certain tomato patch, were accused of pecking the 

 ripening fruit at a time when the high price made this a considerable loss. 

 A careful investigation, however, proved that the destruction was due 

 entirely to a neighbor's chickens. These are but examples of the inaccu- 

 rate observations being made all over the United States, which have done 

 more than anything else to condemn wrongfully many beneficial birds. 



It is this lack of knowledge that has caused many States in the past to 

 offer bounties for the killing of certain birds, notably hawks and owls. 

 Pennsylvania, for example, in 1885 passed an ordinance offering a bounty 

 of fifty cents for every hawk and owl killed within the State, and in eighteen 

 months $90,000 had been paid out in bounties. At the end of that time 

 small rodents had so increased that the ordinance was hastily repealed. 

 It was estimated that during the short time that it was in force, the 

 agricultural interests in the State suffered a loss of nearly four million 

 dollars, not to mention that of ensuing years owing to the increase of the 

 mice caused by the destruction of the hawks and owls, their natural con- 

 trol. A wholesale slaughter is never to be recommended, even if the species 

 in question has been, beyond a doubt, more detrimental than beneficial. 



The following pages are intended to show in a general way the food 

 of the various groups of birds found in New York State, and their 

 relation to agriculture, and to encourage more careful observation and 

 greater appreciation of the services rendered by our native birds. One 

 thing should always be borne in mind. Within certain limitations birds 

 are adaptable in selecting their food, and their tendency is always to 

 take the food that is most abundant and most easily secured. Thus, 

 while they never exterminate any insect, they tend to keep the numbers 

 within bounds, and as soon as a particular species is greatly reduced they 

 turn their attention to some other insect that is more abundant and more 

 easily secured. In this way they serve as valves, or regulators, on the 



