1(17 



farmer or [xmltiy laisei- cau leeouut iustauces of 

 where lie or slie was ilie victim of pillage by this bold 

 and audacious robber, in the spring of 187!S ihe 

 writer was presented bv a friend with a Cooper's 

 Hawk which he had caught in a steel trap, but not 

 until he and his mate had destroyed some fifty young 

 chickens. In one day these two hawks killed twelve 

 chirkens. 



A BOLD ACT. 



Audulxin says: "This maramUr sometimfs attacks birds fai 

 superior to itself in weight and sometimes possessed of a 

 courage and strength equal to its own. .\s I was one morning 

 observing the motions of some parakeets, near Bayou Sara, 

 in Louisiana, in the month of November, I heard a cock 

 crowing not far from me and in sight of a farm house. The 

 next moment the hawk flew past me and so close that I might 

 have touched it with the barrel of my gun had I been pre- 

 pared. Not more than a few seconds elapsed before I heard 

 the cackling of the hens and the war cry of the cock, and at 

 the same time observed the hawk rising, as if without ef- 

 fort, a few yards in the air and again falling toward the 

 ground with the rapidity of lightning. I proceeded to the spot 

 and found the hawk grappled to the body of the cock, both 

 tumbling over and over and paying no attention to me as I 

 approached. Desirous of seeing the result, I remained still 

 until, perceiving that the hawk had given a fatal squeeze to 

 the brave cock, I ran to secure the former but the marauder 

 had kept a hawk's eye upon me, and, disengaging himself, 

 rose in the air in full confidence. The next moment I pulled 

 the trigger and he fell dead. " 



A MIXED DIET. 



Dr. Coues (Birds of Nortliwest) says, in speaking of this 

 liawk: "Possessed of spirit commensurate with its physical 

 powers, it preys upon game little if any humbler than that 

 of our more powerful falcons. It attacks and destroys 

 hares, grouse, teal, and even the young of larger ducks, in 

 the state in which they are known as 'flappers,' besides cap- 

 turing the usual variety of smaller birds and quadrupeds. 

 It occasionally seizes upon reptiles or picks up insects. In 

 securing its prey it gives chase openly and drives down Its 

 quarry with almost incredible velocity." 



The following quotations from Dr. Fisher's Hawk and Owl 

 Bulletin No. ?,. page 39, show how extensively the Cooper's 

 Hawk feed.'^ on game and domestic birds. Nuttall says: "His 

 food appears principally to be of various kinds; from the 

 sparrow to the Ruffed Grouse, all contribute to his rapacious 



