EELATION TO AGRICULTURE 39 



man and which are beneficial. The contents of 

 about 50,000 stomachs taken from the seventy- 

 five species and subspecies which occur north of 

 the Mexican line have been analyzed. The results 

 show that out of the seventy-five only six forms 

 the goshawk, duck-hawk, pigeon- hawk, Cooper's 

 hawk, sharp- shinned hawk, and the horned owl 

 are wholly detrimental to the interests of agricul- 

 ture; beneficial birds form the greater part of 

 their diet. 



It is no longer the fashion to call the red-tailed 

 and red-shouldered hawks poultry thieves. They 

 are now recognized, like the sparrow-hawk, as 

 birds to be courted, not killed. Poultry make up 

 but 1 per cent, of the food of a red-shouldered 

 hawk and ten for the red-tailed species. The 

 screech-owl, barn-awl, and long- and short-eared 

 owls, are given every inducement to remain in the 

 neighborhood of farms. The American sparrow- 

 hawk devours hundreds of insects and field-mice 

 to every song-bird it takes. For each bird of eco- 

 nomic value consumed, the owls, with the sole ex- 

 ception of the great-horned variety, destroy an 

 average of 400 small rodents ; two or three are de- 

 voured at a meal. Quite different are these rec- 

 ords from that of the sharp-shinned hawk, which 

 lives on a diet 98 per cent. bird. 



With a multitude of similar facts before us it 

 is no longer possible to condemn the hawk and owl 

 families. All laws should be repealed relating to 



