179 



ilANlJl.K A VVOHN'OIOn HAWK i ■ A K lOKII IJ . V. 



Tl.is spcrL^fi wl„.n wotiii(l.-(], liko all odu-r rapanoiis 

 birds, will tl(>f.'n(l i(sr|f uidi ils claws and hill a},Minst 

 all advaiu-cs. A slicic <ii- ^jnn baii-i'l iiicscnted to i(, 

 when cripple.], will Ix. -rasju-d, and (lie bird can be 

 carried pendant from (lie same a considerable dislanee 

 before it will loose ils hold. With such lenacit.y do 

 thej hold on tlial a fi'icnd of mine who had wiiif,'cd 

 one, in his endeavors d, caplure i( aliv.-, had (he l^rd 

 to fasten on his for.-arni with bod. claws; lo relieve 

 himself he was oblij-ed to take oul his jicnknife and 

 sever die tendons of both lejjs. 



WIIKN IU:D-TAIJ>S WKKK AliTINDANT. 



Fifleen years a^o hirds of (he j;eu„s Buteo, especi- 

 ally the Red-failed and Red shonldered species, and the 

 Rough-leRged lla^k, likewise (he handswiie little Spar- 

 row Hawk, were very numerous about the fields and 

 ^n-assy meadow lands in most of the farming districts 

 of this State. The passage of the Scalp act of 1885 

 stimulated many persons to make a regular business 

 of slaughtering these hawks, as well as other animals 

 and as a result (honsands were killed during the ac' 

 (ive enforcement of the unwise law. fn the winter of 

 1884 I look a drive along (he Brandywine creek, and, 

 in a distance of two miles above Ohadd's Ford, Dela- 

 ware county, saw tive Rough-legged Hawks, nine Red 

 tailed, four Red-shouldered, and (hree Sparrow Hawks, 

 or twenly-on.. in all. Several times, in winter, since 

 1885, I have driven over the same route and at n(. 

 time have I seen more than two or three of these spe- 

 cies, and generally the birds that were observed on 

 these last trips were Sparrow Hawks. 

 The meadows along the Brandywine, in the localily 



