188 BIRDS OF ONTARIO. 



regard to the common Buzzard of Britain, a bird which was believed 

 to be one of the most destructive among the game, that he took only 

 the wounded birds, or those of a weak and sickly constitution, which, 

 if allowed to come to maturity, would evolve offspring of a weak and 

 degenerate type, little valued by the sportsman. If this hawk, indo- 

 lent and sluggish in its habits, never heeding the strong-winged, 

 active birds, was permitted to carry out the work Nature intended it 

 to do, in picking off the weaklings, the hardy, healthy character of 

 the birds would be kept up, and there would be fewer instances of 

 disease among the grouse to report. 



It has been noticed, too, that some of the offenders have noble 

 qualities, which could not but excite the admiration of the sportsman 

 who might observe them, but still the cry is kept up, " Kill off the 

 hawks, and save the game and poultry," and they are still being 

 killed off to an extent which, to the student of bird-life, is a matter 

 for deep regret. 



In this countr}" the same prejudice, inherited, perhaps, has existed 

 against the hawks and owls among the people generally, and the 

 opinion is frequently expressed that they should all be killed off. In 

 some parts of the country this opinion became general, and in order 

 that the work might be done more effectually and expeditiousl}' than 

 it had been in older lands, the governments of different States in the 

 Union were petitioned to offer a bounty for the heads of all hawks 

 and owls, on account of the destruction they caused amongst the 

 game and poultry. 



In several States a liberal bounty was offered, the slaughter 

 began, and for a time was carried on with pleasure and profit by 

 those who were working for the money. In one county alone, in 

 the State of Pennsylvania, over five thousand dollars was paid in 

 one year for the heads of hawks and owls ; and in Colorado, with 

 the best intentions, many thousands of hawks were killed. But this 

 arrangement, though it satisfied the farmers for a time, was not 

 satisfactory to the ornithologists, many of whom expressed doubts as 

 to the ccjrrectness of the statements made regarding the extent of the 

 destruction of poultry. Others felt sure that all the hawks and owls 

 were not equally guilty of the charges brought against them, and 

 some even went s(» far as to .say that some f)f the species which 

 were being destroyed were positively beneficial. 



In this shape the subject was brought before the Board of the 

 Department of Agriculture, at Washington, who, after due considera- 

 tion, placed the matter in tiie hands of their indefatigable oiiiitholo- 



