230 



Nature-Study Agriculture 



Bats 



Three 

 hawks of 

 bad 

 character 



ground, the owl searches 

 for rodents at night, and 

 the hawk catches similar 

 prey in daylight. 



Bats, of course, are 

 not to be classed with 

 birds; but it is well to 

 keep in mind that these 

 curious little animals 

 are very useful as de- 

 stroyers of night-flying 

 insects, which consti- 

 tute the food of most 

 of them. 



We have considered 

 the value of birds in an 

 economic way : they 

 help to save our crops 

 and so have an actual 

 money value to us. 



But, aside from this, the world would be a much duller 

 place to live in if it were not for the song and the color 

 and the interesting ways of birds. 



Harmful birds. Although birds have to their credit 

 so much of good, still there are some few which do so much 

 more harm than good that they must be classed as harm- 

 ful. Among these are three members of the hawk 

 family, the Cooper's hawk (Fig. 183), the sharp-shinned 

 hawk, and the goshawk. These are so destructive to 

 other birds and to young chickens that the laws do not 

 protect them. The English sparrow, as mentioned 



FIG. 183. 



San Diego Society Nat. Hist. 

 A Cooper's hawk and its prey. 



