THE DESTRUCTIVE RODENT 



having heard the hoot of an owl some hours prior to the 

 boy's decease, concluded the bird was in some way 

 responsible. A relentless war on the owls followed. 

 So dominated by senseless superstition was he, that 

 when an owl fell winged, he, with a curse, left it to 

 die an agonising, lingering death. 



The owl is the only bird which preys on nocturnal 

 rodents, and the night jar on night-flying insects ; con- 

 sequently every effort, both educational and coercive, 

 should be employed to protect these birds from 

 molestation. A few species of ordinary diurnal birds 

 might be exterminated, and other species would do 

 their work. But should the owl and night jar be 

 annihilated, there are no others to fill the gaps. The 

 principal diet of hawks consists of rats and mice. 

 They also devour prodigious numbers of locusts, 

 grasshoppers, and other vegetation-eating creatures. 



When omnivorous small birds increase abnormally 

 in numbers, they are apt to become a pest, owing to 

 their natural diet of insects and seeds of weeds and 

 grasses not being sufficient for their needs. Hawks 

 are Nature's agents in preventing small birds breeding 

 too rapidly, and also in checking disease and eliminating 

 the physically unfit ; for, naturally, a sick or inactive 

 bird falls an easy prey to a hawk. 



Should hawks become too numerous, then it is 

 justifiable for man to reduce their numbers ; but this 

 should be done only after mature consideration and 

 observation. The larger species of hawks sometimes 

 become chicken thieves, and it is then necessary to 

 destroy them. But man is certainly not justified in 



