PREVENTING THE DEPREDATIONS OF BIRDS. .303 



raise such a din of voice Ihal if is usually deterred from com- 

 ing very near. 



Among people in general there is perhaps a greater need of 

 education concerning hawks and owls than concerning any 

 other group of injurious birds, or even all of them put together. 

 We have only one owl and three or four hawks that are not 

 more beneficial than otherwise. This being the case, we see 

 the folly of setting a bounty on the heads of the whole family, 

 as has been done, at various times in several States. Such a 

 bounty takes money from both pockets and throws it to the 

 winds. If farmers knew the troublesome hawks by sight and 

 sound, a little scouting in the spring would enable them to 

 ascertain whether any were breeding in the neighborhood. 

 The sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper's hawk, and the goshawk, 

 the three species that are most injurious, are all easily discov- 

 ered where they have a nest or intend to build one. Except 

 while migrating, these hawks are mainly confined to a limited 

 area adjacent to their breeding-places, and when these places 

 are known, a steel trap put in the nest may generally be de- 

 pended upon to secure both birds. If one is careful to shoot 

 the male first, a gun will accomplish the same result. 



When a hawk belonging to a species generally beneficial 

 falls into bad habits, there is nothing to be done but to plan 

 for the destruction of that particular bird by the best means 

 available. 



The occasional lesser depredations of birds are generally 

 too slight to deserve notice. Orioles take a few peas, gros- 

 beaks and grouse nip off buds from certain trees in winter, 

 two or three of the woodpeckers are fond of the tender inner 

 bark of trees, and sometimes are guilty of tasting apples and 

 oranges. None of these birds can be regulated. If by chance 

 they become unbearable, the only thing to do is to kill them. 

 However, as they are ordinarily useful, such a step should 

 never be taken without full assurance that it is necessary. 



