642 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



Range 



Breeds in the United States, Mexico, 

 Costa Rica, Canada, and Alaska; winters 

 generally in the United States and south 

 to Gautemala. 



Habits and Economic Status 



The red-tailed hawk, or "hen hawk," as 

 it is commonly called, is one of the best 

 known of all our birds of prey, and is a 

 widely distributed species of great econ- 

 omic importance. Its habit of sitting on 

 some prominent limb or pole in the open, 

 or flying with measured wing beat over 

 prairies and sparsely wooded areas on the 

 lookout for its favorite prey, causes it 

 to be noticed by the most indifferent ob- 

 server. Although not as omnivorous as 

 the red-shouldered hawk, it feeds on a 

 variety of food, as small mammals, 

 snakes, frogs, insects, birds, crawfish, 

 centipedes, and even carrion. In regions 

 where rattlesnakes abound it destroys 

 considerable numbers of the reptiles. 

 Although it feeds to a certain extent on 

 poultry and birds, it is nevertheless en- 

 titled to general protection on account of 

 the insistent warfare it wages against 

 field mice and other small rodents and 

 insects that are so destructive to young 

 orchards, nursery stock, and farm prod- 

 uce. Out of 530 stomachs examined, 457, 

 or 85 per cent, contained the remains of 

 mammal pests such as field mice, pine 

 mice, rabbits, several species of ground 

 squirrels, pocket gophers, and cotton rats, 

 and only 62 contained the remains of 

 poultry or game birds. 



Cooper's Hawk 



Accipiter cooperi 

 Length, about 15 inches. Medium sized, 

 with long tail and short wings, and 

 without the white patch on rump which 

 is characteristic of the marsh hawk. 



Kange 



Breeds throughout most of the United 

 States and Southern Canada; winters 

 from the United States to Costa Rica. 



Habits and Economic Status 



The Cooper's hawk, or "blue darter," 

 as it is familiarly known throughout the 

 South, is preeminentl.v a poultry and bird- 

 eating species, and its destructiveness in 



this direction is surpassed only by that 

 of its larger congener, the goshawk, which 

 occasionally in autumn and winter enters 

 the United States from the North in 

 great numbers. The almost universal 

 prejudice against birds of prey is largely 

 due to the activities of these two birds, 

 assisted by a third, the sharp-shinned 

 hawk, which in habits and appearance 

 might well pass for a small Cooper's 

 hawk. These birds usually approach un- 

 der cover and drop upon unsuspecting 

 victims, making great inroads upon 

 poultry j'ards and game coverts favorably 

 situated for this style of hunting. Out of 

 123 stomachs examined, 38 contained the 

 remains of poultry and game birds, 66 the 

 remains of other birds, and 12 the re- 

 mains of mammals. Twenty-ei.ght species 

 of wild birds were identified in the above- 

 mentioned material. This destructive 

 hawk, together with its two near rela- 

 tives, should be destroyed by every pos- 

 sible means. 



Mourning Dove 



y.enai rlu ra macron ra 



Length, 12 inches. The dark spot on 

 the side of the neck distinguishes this 

 bird from all other native doves and 

 pigeons except the white-winged dove. 

 The latter has the upper third of wing 

 white. 



Range 



Breeds throughout the United States 

 and in Mexico, Gautemala, and Southern 

 Canada; winters f;om the Central United 

 States to Panama. 



Habits and Economic Status 



The food of the mourning dove is prac- 

 tically all vegetal)le matter (over 99 per 

 cent), principally seeds of plants, includ- 

 ing grain. 'Wheat, oats, rye, corn, bar- 

 ley, and buckwheat were found in 150 out 

 of 237 stomachs, and constituted 32 per 

 cent of the food. Three-fourths of this 

 was waste grain picked up after harvest. 

 The principal and almost constant diet 

 is weed seeds, which are eaten through- 

 out the year and constitute 64 per cent of 

 the entire food. In one stomach were 

 found 7,500 seeds of yellow wood sor- 

 rel, in another 6,400 seeds of barn grass 

 or foxtail, and in a third 2,600 seeds of 



