104 RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, 
No other birds are so well protected ; and as a result 
Turkey Buzzardsand Black Vultures walk about the streets 
of some of our Southern cities with the tameness of domes- 
ticfowls. If we should similarly encourage our insectivo- 
rous birds, who can predict the benefits which might accrue ? 
HAWES, FALCONS, AND EAGLES. (FAMILY FALCONIDZ.) 
To this family belong the diurnal birds of prey, 
which number some three hundred and fifty species, and 
are distributed throughout the world. They are birds 
of strong flight, and capture their prey on the wing by 
striking it with their sharp, curved claws, the most dead- 
ly weapons to be found in any bird’s armament. The 
bill is short, stout, and hooked, and is used to tear the 
prey while it is held by the feet. 
The voices of Hawks are in keeping with their dis- 
positions, and, while their lives typify all that is fierce 
and cruel, no birds are more often wrongly accused and 
falsely persecuted than our birds of prey. To kill one 
is regarded as an act of special merit; to spare one seems 
to place a premium on crime. Still, these birds are among 
the best friends of the farmer. There are but two of our 
common species, Cooper’s and the Sharp-shinned, who 
habitually feed on birds and poultry. Our other com- 
mon species are, without exception, invaluable aids to the 
agriculturist in preventing the undue increase of the small 
rodents so destructive to crops. 
’ Any one reading Dr. Fisher’s reports on this subject 
can not fail to be impressed with the array of facts he 
houldered presents in proof of the value of these 
” Hawk, birds. or instance, the Red-shoul- 
Buteo linentus. dered Hawk, to which the name 
stab Chicken or Hen Hawk is often ap- 
plied, has been found to live largely on small mammals, 
