220 Bird J Every Child Should Know 



and the rest of their iinder parts are much 

 barred with buff and white. 



Instead of spending their time perching on 

 lookouts, as the red-tailed and red-shouldered 

 hawks do, these two reprobates dash after their 

 victims on the wing, chasing them across open 

 stretches where such swift, dexterous, dodging 

 flyers are sure to overtake them. Or they will 

 flash out of a clear sky like feathered lightning 

 and boldly strike a chicken, though it be peck- 

 ing com near a farmer's feet. These two 

 marauders, and the big slate-coloured goshawk, 

 also called the blue hen hawk or partridge 

 hawk, stab their cruel talons though the vitals 

 of more valuable poultry, song and game birds, 

 than any child would care to read about. 



BALD EAGLE 



Every American boy and girl knows our 

 national bird, which is the farmer's ally, how- 

 ever, only when it appears on the money in his 

 pocket. Without an eagle on that, you must 

 know it would be of little use to him. 



Truth to tell, this majestic emblem of our 

 republic (borrowed from imperial Rome) that 

 spreads itself gloriously over our coins, flag 

 poles, public buildings and government docu- 

 ments, is, in real life, not the bravest of the 

 brave, nor the most intelligent, nor the noblest, 



