BIRDS OF NEW YORK 51 



Destruction of meadow mice and other injurious rodents. Just as 

 outbreaks of insect pests are held in check by birds, so a great increase of 

 meadow mice, squirrels and rabbits is prevented by the agency of our 

 hawks and owls. Many species like the Rough-legged hawk, feed almost 

 exclusively on meadow mice, and most of the heavier soaring species like 

 the Red-tail and Red-shouldered hawks are principally beneficial for the 

 same reason. Most of the smaller owls, as would naturally be expected, 

 feed principally upon mice, since these animals are partially nocturnal in 

 habit like the owls themselves, and the owls are unquestionably nature's 

 remedy for rodent pests. 



THE STATUS OF OUR BIRD LAWS 



For many years on the statute books of the State there has 

 been a paragraph in the game laws excepting certain birds from the 

 protection which is afforded the desirable species. There has scarcely 

 been a year within the author's memory when this list has not been 

 changed for some reason or other, but from the beginning hawks, with- 

 out exception, have been included, on the theory that they are all 

 injurious or that the injurious can not be distinguished from the beneficial 

 by the sportsman. As a matter of fact, opinions will differ about many 

 species; and some species of birds that are beneficial, or at least innocuous 

 in many localities, will be found decidedly injurious in others. Further- 

 more, in the same locality certain individuals frequently acquire habits 

 which place them in the injurious list. Some individuals of the Red- 

 headed woodpecker become much more cannibalistic than their fellows. 

 The same is true of grackles, crows and other species which occasionally 

 feed upon nestlings or eggs. Consequently, there is great difficulty in decid- 

 ing upon a black list which shall apply to all localities of the State and be 

 unchangeable. The general consensus of opinion, however, as a result 

 of observation and examination of stomach contents, should certainly place 

 the following birds on the black list: Cooper hawk, Sharp-shinned hawk, 

 Goshawk, Gyrfalcon, Duck hawk, Pigeon hawk, Great -horned owl, Snowy 



