2i6 Birds Every Child Should Know 



hawks are brought — I mean those scientific 

 men in the Department of Agriculture, Washing- 

 ton, who examine the contents of birds' stom- 

 achs to learn just what food is taken in different 

 parts of the country and at different seasons 

 of the year — the two so-called '*hen hawks" 

 were proved to be rare offenders, and great 

 helpers. Two hundred and twenty stomachs 

 of red-shouldered hawks were examined by 

 Dr. Fisher, and only three contained remains 

 of poultry, while one hundred and two con- 

 tained mice; ninety-two, insects; forty, moles 

 and other small mammals ; fifty-nine, frogs and 

 snakes, and so on. The percentage of poultry- 

 eaten is so small that it might be reduced to 

 nothing if the farmers would keep their chickens 

 in yards instead of letting them roam to pick 

 up a living in the fields, where the temptation 

 to snatch up one must be overwhelming to a 

 hungry hawk. Fortunately these two benefi- 

 cent "hen hawks," are still common, in spite 

 of our ignorant persecution of them for two 

 hundred years or more. 



Toward the end of summer, especially in 

 September, when nursery duties have ended 

 for the year and the hawks are care free, you 

 may see them saiHng in wide spirals, delighting 

 in the cooler stratum of air high overhead. 

 Balancing on wide, outstretched wings, floating 

 serenely with no apparent effort, they enjo}/ 



