104 RED-SHOULDERED HAWK. 



No other birds are so well protected ; and as a result 

 Turkey Buzzards and Black Vultures walk about the streets 

 of some of our Southern cities with the tameness of domes- 

 tic fowls. If we should similarly encourage our insectivo- 

 rous birds, who can predict the benefits which might accrue ? 



Hawks, Falcons, and Eagles. (Family Falconidje.) 



To this family belong the diurnal birds of prey, 

 which number some three hundred and fifty species, and 

 are distributed throughout the world. They are birds 

 of strong flight, and capture their prey on the wing by 

 striking it with their sharp, curved claws, the most dead- 

 ly weapons to be found in any bird's armament. The 

 bill is short, stout, and hooked, and is used to tear the 

 prey while it is held by the feet. 



The voices of Hawks are in keeping with their dis- 

 positions, and, while their lives typify all that is fierce 

 and cruel, no birds are more often wrongly accused and 

 falsely persecuted than our birds of prey. To kill one 

 is regarded as an act of special merit ; to spare one seems 

 to place a premium on crime. Still, these birds are among 

 the best friends of the farmer. There are but two of our 

 common species, Cooper's and the Sharp-shinned, who 

 habitually feed on birds and poultry. Our other com- 

 mon species are, without exception, invaluable aids to the 

 agriculturist in preventing the undue increase of the small 

 rodents so destructive to crops. 



Any one reading Dr. Fisher's reports on this subject 



can not fail to be impressed with the array of facts he 



Bed-shouldered presents in proof of the value of these 



Hawk, birds. For instance, the Ked-shoul- 



Buteo Uneatus. dered Hawk, to which the name 

 Plate xiv. Chicken or Hen Hawk is often ap- 



plied, has been found to live largely on small mammals, 



