.Mai: 



l.'^'Jl.J 



AND OULUGIST. 



43 



for extrusion. The Hawks are crerlited with 

 dopositiiiK an egg on alternate days, but for 

 some reason tliis one failed to do so. 

 Oswego, X.V. D. D. Stone. 



Bill to Extend the Protection of the 



Law to Certain Species of the 



Hawks and Owls. 



After many years of actual field work, in- 

 cluding the dissection and examination of 

 numerous stomachs of various species of the 

 Ilawks and Owls of this section, myself 

 among others consider that we are in position 

 to speiik upon this subject, and le.ssen, if pos- 

 sible, the wanton destruction of many of these 

 birds whose very existence depends upon 

 tlieir efforts in exterminating some of man- 

 kind's greatest pests, mice, gophers, reptiles, 

 and numerous varieties of harmful insects, 

 and last if not least the pestiferous Passer 

 doDiesticus. With this certainly commendable 

 (d)ject in view, we are working upon a bill to 

 be presented before our stale legislature, in 

 which bill we will endeavor to set clearly forth 

 tlie direct benefits that tlie passage of such 

 a bill would bring about Looking at it fiom 

 an econmnic standpoint alone, ue consider 

 that certain of these birds sliould I)c fostered 

 and not left to the none too tender mercies 

 of the ignorant or careless "sportsman," the 

 average of wliom will lose no opportunity 

 to abolish an Owl or a Hawk, eitlier assuming 

 that they "catch chickens" (usually the one 

 who makes such an excuse has no chickens 

 to be caught) or that because they are a Hawk 

 or an Owl, as the case may be, they arc a 

 nuisance on general principles, which cer- 

 tainly is a mi-take in the great majority of 

 cases. It is the object of this letter to awaken 

 wide-spread interest and co-operation among 

 tlie ornithologists of the various states, and 

 it is ciirucstly hoped that ere long universal 

 state laws will proclaim it a crime to molest 

 or <lestroy such species of birds, not alone 

 of the Hawks and Owls, as wc found upon 

 careful and painstaking investigation to be 

 beneficitU, <iv at least where the beneficial 

 qualities are found to outweigh the harmful. 



I am well aware that some of these birds 

 of i)rey live at the expense of other valuable 

 birds, such for instance as the .Sharp-shinned 

 Hawk (AcrijiiterfusciiK), the Coopers {Arcipi- 

 tt'r foojici-i), and the .American Goshawk {Axhir 

 ((IriciiiiUhix), among the diuinals. and the old 



familiar Bubo vhyinianus, and even the sleepy 

 little Scoj}S asio, among the "prowlers." 

 Each are great hunters, and Instances are 

 known to me where small sparrows, warblers, 

 woodpeckers, and even partridges have proven 

 victims to their terrible talons and sharp, acute 

 beaks. Ijnt take an ojjportunity some clear 

 day in early spring, locate yourself near some 

 extensive meadow bordering a bit of marsh- 

 lan<l, and watch the manojuvres of a Marsh 

 Hawk, as he skims with easy grace a few feet 

 above the field, pausing with tluttering flight 

 over some spot where a leaf or blade of 

 grass has stirred suspiciously, and after one 

 or two " misjudgings" he descends with un- 

 erring precision, and swiftly, upon .some luck- 

 less mouse or go])her, and after a quick dis- 

 posal of his lunch again assumes that easy 

 watchful flight, till, during the course of his 

 hunt many a rodent will have gone to make 

 up the stomach contents of this invaluable 

 bird. Yet there is no law to prevent the 

 farmer's boy, ploughing in the next field, from 

 hitching his team to the fence and running 

 thiee-quarters of a mile back to the house 

 after the gun on purpose to shoot. But I will 

 be luicovering reminiscences of my own boy- 

 hood days if I go on in that strain. I per- 

 sonally do not hesitate to prejiare a set of 

 eggs for the cabinet, neither do I think it an 

 unjjardonable sin to secure some fine specimen 

 for taxidermal purposes. In fact, if properly 

 and judiciously pursued, it will make us the 

 wiser and better able to judge upon matters 

 of this kind, and finally to enact restrictions 

 that will better perpetuate the races that af- 

 ford US such a source of pleasure by their 

 pleasing habits and cheerful songs. I am 

 afraid, however, that the average student of 

 these two intimately connected branches of 

 science, the two O's, however enthusiastic he 

 may be, has but a vague and idly defined Idea 

 of what his studies will benefit liim farther 

 than the gratification of his own amusement. 

 Make it a means to an end of something far 

 more noble. Our government is annually ex- 

 pending thousands of dollars carrying on 

 investigations along this line, publishing the 

 results of these investigations, and seeking 

 to awaken an interest in the minds of the 

 general reading public, and ccrtaiidy, we who 

 profess to know, and style ourselves orni- 

 thologists, ought not to be behind when it 

 comes to exposing our views and lifting up 

 our voices against the "slaughter of the Inno- 

 cents." IP. ('. Ilrowiii-lt, M.I). 

 Simtll I.vuTis, Mil il. 



