The OoLOGisT. 



Vol. XXXII. No. 2. 



Albion, N. Y. Feb. 15, 1915. 



Whole No. 331 



Owned and Published Monthly, by R. M. Barnes, Albion, N. Y., and Lacon, III. 



The Value of Hawks and Owls 

 BY S. S. DICKEY 



Instructor in Ornithology in Waynes- 

 burg College. 



Published in Washington Observer 



It is generally believed that all 

 liawks and most owls are nuisances to 

 the farmers because of destructive 

 liabits and that therefore, they should 

 be killed. This belief has doubtless 

 been encouraged by the laws of many 

 states offering bounties for the heads 

 of the species of this order of birds. 



The truth is, as shown by scientific 

 investigation, that most of them are 

 far more useful than harmful and 

 should be protected. Farmers should 

 learn to discriminate and stop killing 

 the useful kinds. 



Already great damage has resulted 

 from a lack of knowledge on this sub- 

 ject. The writer has known of boun- 

 ties being paid for scalps of hawks 

 which are protected by law and for 

 the killing of which fines should have 

 been imposed. 



The subject is especially timely now 

 for the reason that these birds remain 

 with us during the winter and, be- 

 cause of the absence of leaves from 

 the trees they are more easily seen 

 and more liable to destruction than 

 during the summer season. 



The sharp-shinned hawk, the blue- 

 tailed hawk, and the great horned owl 

 are the varieties found in Southwest- 

 ern Pennsylvania which are condemn- 

 ed by the game commission and per- 

 mitted to be killed because they are 

 detrimental to man. 



The following is a brief description 



of them: The first species, the sharp- 

 shinned hawk, is about the size of a 

 common pigeon. Its tail is compara- 

 tively long and the general color of 

 its plumage is slaty-blue above and 

 white beneath. The food of this small 

 hawk consists almost entirely of use- 

 ful birds and young poultry. 



The second species, the blue-tailed 

 hawk, is similar to the preceding 

 species in its general color but is 

 much larger and has a comparatively 

 longer tail. This is the common 

 chicken hawk, so well known among 

 the farmers that a detailed descrip- 

 tion of it is unnecessary. Its food is 

 mainly composed of insectivorous 

 birds, game birds, and poultry. 



The third species, the great horned 

 owl, is commonly known as hoot or 

 booby owl. On account of its con- 

 spicuous ear feathers it appears some- 

 what like a cat, hence it is sometimes 

 known by the name cat owl. This 

 bird is large and powerful and when 

 numerous proves a great pest. It will 

 attack and slay poultry the size of 

 geese or turkeys and has been known 

 to kill several in a single night, eat- 

 ing nothing but the brains and leav- 

 ing the carcass to rot. At present 

 these large owls are not abundant in 

 this region and of course are not liable 

 to do much damage. The esthetic 

 value of these birds should be con- 

 sidered, however, so that the species 

 will not become entirely extinct as it 

 has in some regions. 



There are four species of useful 

 hawks found in Southwestern Penn- 

 sylvania. Some of them at times will 



