274 RED-SHOULDERED HAWK 



catch one of the fowls. (See ' Hawk and Owl 

 Bulletin,' p. 63.) 



As for birds, Doctor Fisher says that this 

 Hawk flies too slowly to be able to catch them. 

 Instead, it eats, among other things, mice, snakes, 

 grasshoppers, earthworms, snails, spiders, and 

 centipedes. Indeed, 90 per cent, of its food is 

 composed of injurious mammals and insects. 



In view of these facts, it seems strange that the 

 bird's good work should be interfered with, but, 

 as Mr. Chapman explains, " The farmer sees a 

 Hawk sailing in wide circles above him, uttering 

 its fierce, screaming cry. . . . While he is watch- 

 ing it a sly, low-flying Accipiter slips by him and 

 makes a sudden dash into the poultry-yard. The 

 farmer does not discriminate ; a Hawk is a Hawk, 

 and, shaking his fist at the bird in the air, he 

 vows vengeance at the first opportunity." 



Aside from the economic interest attaching to 

 the Red-shoulders, their domestic relations are 

 worth study. Nuttall, who saw pairs of the birds 

 in the south in winter, tells us that they call 

 affectionately for each other, and that the male, 

 when discovering his mate, caresses her much in 

 the manner of the Dove. 



