1782 



The Cornell Reading-Courses 



In the first place we can divide all birds into two groups : those that feed 

 on animal substance, and those that feed on vegetable substance. Of the 

 animal feeders we have those that feed on other birds and on small mam- 

 mals, those that feed on fish, frogs, crayfish, and the like, and those that 

 feed on insects and worms. Let us first consider the bird and mammal 

 eaters — the hawks, the owls, and the shrikes. 



Bird and mammal eaters 



The hawks and the owls arc alike in possessing strong, sharp talons 

 for seizing their prey, and strong hooked bills for tearing it apart. The 

 hawks have keen sight and hunt by day. The owls hunt by night, and, 



although they have very large eyes, 

 locate their prey more by sound, for 

 they have very keen hearing. Small 

 birds and poultry, being silent at 

 night, are seldom molested by owls; 

 but rats and mice, being active, are 

 taken in large numbers. In addition 

 to birds and mammals, a large part 

 of the food of hawks and owls is 

 composed of the larger insects, such 

 as grasshoppers, crickets, and June 

 beetles. In fact, it was found by Dr. 

 A. K. Fisher, of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, in study- 

 ing over two thousand stomachs of , 

 hawks and owls taken in all parts 

 of the United States, that 2 7 per cent of 

 the birds had fed on insects while only 

 3 J per cent had eaten poultry or game. 



Fig. 13. — Marsh hawk about to alight 



Hawks 



Thirteen species of hawks are fou'nd 



more or less regularly in New York 

 State; but three of these — the goshawk, the pigeon hawk, and the duck 

 hawk are too rare to be of great importance. All the hawks vary so much 

 in size and in coloration with both age and sex that it is difficult to 

 describe any species in a few words, but four types are recognized in 

 addition to the bald eagle and the osprey, or fish hawk. 



Harriers .—The first of these types, the harriers, includes only the marsh 

 hawk, a long-winged, long-tailed hawk with a conspicuous white patch 

 above its tail, It is like the owls 'm having a facial disk of short feathers. 



