The Delightful Hobby of Bird Watching 



THE RED-TAILED HAWK-BETTER THAN ITS REPUTATION 



With their sharp eyes and ability to fly swiftly and tirelessly, the rapacious 

 hawks are ideally adapted to be birds of prey. Though falsely accused of making 

 off with poultry it is sometimes called "the chicken hawk" the red-tailed 

 hawk specializes in mice and other creatures harmful to crops. 



surface are surprisingly evident. The red-tailed hawk is of medium 

 size, its body length ranging from nineteen to twenty-five inches. 

 Its wing-spread may be fifty inches or more. The Cooper's hawk 

 is slightly smaller. It looks very much like the sharp-shinned 

 hawk, the adult males of both species having blue-gray plumage 

 above and whitish below with reddish-brown cross stripes. 



Many hawks perform a valuable service in farm areas by eating 

 great numbers of mice and other destructive small mammals. In 

 spite of this, there is a popular notion that all hawks are the 

 farmer's enemies. 



"But don't chicken hawks steal the farmer's hens?" your child 

 may ask. 



