Birds in Relation to Agriculti^re in New York State 1785 



to an ignominious end by the gun of a well-meaning but uninformed hunter 

 or poultryman. 



About their nesting grounds both species are noisy, scolding from 

 a safe distance at any intruder. The sharp-shinned hawk always nests 

 in a thick evergreen; the Cooper's hawk nests indiscriminately in pines 

 or hardwoods, usually within fifteen or twenty feet of the ground but 

 occasionally in the tree tops. Both birds sometimes remodel the nests 

 of crows or squirrels, and usually use a few green leaves or evergreen 

 twigs for lining. The Cooper's hawk begins to nest the last of April, 

 but the sharp-shinned hawk usually waits iintil the first of June. The 



Fig. 16. — A litter of young field mice 



eggs of the former are nearly pure white; those of the latter are very 

 heavily spotted with brown. As with other hawks, the period of incuba- 

 tion is long and the young develop slowly, so that it is between two or 

 three months from the time the eggs are laid until the young leave the 

 nest. The young are at first covered with white down, and resemble 

 small chickens. They are unsuspicious and lack the fierce natures of 

 their parents until their feathers begin to grow. Taken while very young 

 they can be tamed, some having been used as are the true falcons in hunt- 

 ing small game. 



Owls 



In general it may be stated that, with the exception of the great homed 

 owl, the owls are among the most beneficial birds of the State; and the 



