AVES 



345 



September i, 1914, at the age of twenty-six years. The passenger 

 pigeon had a pointed tail and nested several feet from the ground. 

 The mourning dove is a beautiful bird, and although it has a 

 square tail is sometimes confused with the passenger pigeon. It is 

 an important enemy of weed seeds. It nests on or near the ground. 



Fig. 190. Passenger pigeons. (Courtesy of Field Museum of Natural History.) 



Order 12. Raptores. — Eagles, hawks, falcons, owls and condors 

 are characterized by hooked sharp beaks, strong talons, large crop 

 and markedly predaceous habits. 



The golden eagle has dark brown plumage. It is nearly one 

 yard long, with a wing spread of nearly seven feet. It destroys 

 poultry, young deer, and small mammals. It is still found in the 

 Rockies. The American^ or " bald " eagle^ our national bird, has a 

 white head and tail in its fourth season. It lives along rivers and 

 feeds on fish, although it is not above the occasional capture of a 

 lamb. (Figure 191.) 



The sharp-shinned hawk and Cooper s hawk (Figure 192) are 

 the common hawks most responsible for the loss of game and poultry, 

 while the duck hawk is extremely destructive to water fowl. 

 Sparrow hawks and pigeon hawks are important enemies of the 

 English sparrow, and beneficial rodent exterminators, but attack 

 some valuable birds. 



