64 ] The Delightful Hobby of Bird Watching 



Strangely enough, it is not the chicken hawks that do the steal- 

 ing. Or if they do, it is an exceptional case. The two kinds widely 

 known as chicken or hen hawks are the red-tailed hawk and the 

 red-shouldered hawk. Both of these eat mostly mice, gophers and 

 other mammals, insects, and reptiles. Only rarely do they attack 

 poultry. 



The Cooper's hawk, however, is one that the farmer may 

 definitely class as bad from his point of view. The sharp-shinned 

 hawk also kills chickens as well as many wild birds. The chances 

 are that the larger and more strikingly marked red-shouldered 

 and red-tailed types attract the most attention, while the smaller 

 and less noticeable Cooper's and sharp-shinned hawks actually 

 carry out the sneak attacks on poultry yards. So, ironically enough, 

 birds that are really allies of the farmer are classed as foes. 



BALD EAGLES 



"Is the bald eagle really bald?" 



Inquisitive children ask this question so often that you ought 

 to have a ready answer handy. Actually this bird has a fine crop 

 of feathers on its head; but because they are white, in contrast to 

 most of its plumage, they do not show up when seen from a 

 distance. 



Because of its strength and daring and its air of majestic dignity, 

 the Americans chose the bald eagle as their national emblem when 

 they first formed an independent nation. Some people find fault 

 with this selection on the ground that eagles often get their food 

 by snatching it from terrified smaller birds that have procured it 

 from river, lake, or ocean. This banditry charge is true, but it is 

 difficult to watch the enormous-winged creature soaring through 

 the air without thinking of it as a noble bird. 



The golden eagle of the West is somewhat larger than the bald 

 one and has been known to grow as long as forty-three inches. It 

 has sometimes been accused of carrying off children in its enormous 

 claws. However, there is apparently no verified case of this hap- 

 pening, and experiment has shown that six pounds is about the 

 greatest weight the golden eagle can carry. 



