I!t8 



ii\\i-ii by Dr. A. K. Fisher, of 4!) .stomaclis. shows com 

 cliisively dial meadow mice constitute aliiiosi wholly 

 the food of the species. Prof. Samuel .\ughey found 

 I he remains of a goi)hei', a small lizard, and seventy 

 insects in the stomach of a Roii{jh-le}r killed in Ne- 

 braska, in September, 1872; however, such food ma- 

 terials accoi'diiif;- to most authorities, are seldom taken. 

 Of the 49 stO'machs referred to by Dr. Fisher, 40 con 

 lained mice, chiefly meadow mice; usually. 2 or .'{ in 

 each stomach, soanetimes 4 oi' R, and in several 

 stomachs, each contained 6 or 7 of these little animals. 



DESTROYS ENEMIES OF THE ORCHARD. 



"Tho Rough-leg is one of the most nocturnal of our hawks, 

 .-ind may be seen in the fading twilight watching from some 

 low perch, oi' betitlng with mcasurpcl, noiseless flight over its 

 hunting- ground. It follows (wo v. i.v iliffeivnt mcUinds in 

 securing i'.a food, one by .fitting on some stub or low tree 

 .and watching the ground for the appearance of Its prey, as 

 the Red-tail deep- the other by beating baclv and forth, just 

 above the tops of the grass or bushes, and dropping upon Its 

 victim, after the manner of the Marsh Hawk. Its food con- 

 sists principally, if not almost exclusively, of the smaller 

 rodents, and most prominent among these are the arvlcoline 

 mice and lemmings. As is well known, the meadow mice 

 (Arvicolae) are widely distributed over the North Temperate 

 Zone, and often occur in immense numbers, overrunning cer- 

 tain sections of the country, and doing irreparable damage to 

 crops as well as to fruit and ornamental trees. 



"Repeatedly young orchards, consisting of hundreds of 

 trees, and representing great money value, have been totally 

 destroyed by these pests. The damage is done in winter, 

 under the snow, where the mice eat the bark from the trees, 

 often completely girdling them and' causing their death. 



"Usually meadow mice are fairly common, if not abundant, 

 over a large part of the meadow and marsh lands of the 

 central and northern United States and temperate Canada. 

 To show how important meadow mice are to the Rough-leg 

 as an article of food, it may be stated in general terms that 

 the southern limit of its wanderings in winter is nearly co- 

 incident with the southern boundary r)f the region inhabited 

 by meadow mice. In the north lemmings are abundant over 

 the country in which the Rough-leg makes its summer home, 

 and furnisii a never-failing supply of food for old and young. 



"The following statements indicate to what extent the 

 Rough-leg feedr on meadow mice: "Mr. E. O. Damon, of 

 N'lrthamplcn. Massachusetts, informs the writer that he h;is 

 killed hundreds of these hawks on the low meadows bordering 

 llip ronnecticut rivpr. .-ind of tb.- tiiuny stomachs he ex- 



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