HAWK 



2723 



HAWK 



governor. Since that time Hawaii has been 

 increasingly prosperous. Deposits in banks 

 have trebled and those in savings banks have 

 quadrupled. The assessed value of property 

 has increased one-half, and the value of the 

 sugar crop has more than doubled. C.H.H. 



Consult Wade's Our Little Hawaiian Cousin; 

 Taylor's Vacation Days in Hawaii and Japan; 

 Goodrich's The Coming Hawaii. 



Related Subjects. The following 1 articles in 



these volumes give additional information on 

 subjects connected with Hawaii : 



Cook, James Molokai 



Dole, Sanford B. Oahu 



Honolulu Palm 



Kanakas Pineapple 



Kilauea Rice 



Liliuokalani Sisal Hemp 



Mauna Kea Sugar 



Mauna Loa Taboo 



knees they close tightly and will not open until 

 the legs are straightened. In this way hawks 

 obtain a tight hold on their prey. They live 

 chiefly on insects, snakes and small animals, 

 such as field mice and ground squirrels. Some 

 species also kill birds and poultry, but scientific 

 investigations have shown that many species of 

 hawk which are being killed by farmers as pests 

 are really important helpers in keeping down the 

 numbers of insects and animals which are in- 

 jurious to crops. Bulletins have been issued by 

 the government to aid farmers in recognizing 

 their hawk friends and enemies, and these may 

 be obtained by writing to the Department of 

 Agriculture. 



Most hawks build rough nests high in trees, 

 but some live in bushes. According to species, 

 two to six eggs are laid. Downy, helpless young 



THREE OF THE HAWKS 

 (a) American sparrow hawk; (b) red-shouldered (chicken) 



HAWK, a general name applied rather in- 

 definitely to a large number of birds of prey 

 found all over the world. They are distin- 

 guished from owls and vultures by their habit 

 of feeding during the day and by not being 

 carrion eaters. When used by falconers they 

 are called ignoble birds of prey, for, though 

 resembling true falcons, they are less powerful, 

 have shorter wings and longer legs, and their 

 beaks are not notched or toothed. See FAL- 

 CON; OWL; VULTURE. 



General Characteristics. Hawks vary in size 

 from ten to twenty-two inches in the males, 

 and from twelve to twenty-four inches in the 

 females. The mother hawk is usually larger, 

 stronger and more bold than the father, for 

 upon her is imposed most of the care of the 

 young. The bills are strong, sharply curved, 

 and fitted for tearing. The claws, or talons, are 

 so constructed that when the legs bend at the 



hawk; (c) marsh hawk. 



are hatched in about four weeks, and they stay 

 in the nest until they are able to fly. Hawks 

 are devoted parents as well as true lovers, and 

 most of them remain mated for life. Young 

 hawks are usually more darkly colored than ma- 

 ture birds and are more or less striped or spot- 

 ted beneath. 



Species. Of American hawks, the following 

 are comparatively harmless, and should be 

 spared for duty in the fields in removing de- 

 structive pests: the large, slow, gray and white 

 marsh hawk; the red-tailed and red-shouldered 

 hawks of Eastern and Central North America, 

 frequently and unjustly called hen and chicken 

 hawks; the dusky-brown Swainson's hawk or 

 buzzard, common throughout, Western America ; 

 the brood-winged hawk, the hawk of wild and 

 mountainous regions; the large, dark rough- 

 legged hawk of the United States, Canada and 

 Alaska. 



