contained mice and other injurious mam- 

 mals and insects, the other 8 per cent, 

 being empty. 



The rough-legged Hawk is a large 

 winged but shall footed bird, andj is 

 wholly incapable of destroying poultry or 

 large game, while stomachs of birds se- 

 cured where waterfowl were abundant re- 

 vealed no change from the ordinary diet 

 of mice and insects. It is somewhat cre- 

 puscular in its habits, being more on the 

 alert during twilight or early dawn, when 

 those pests which constitute its prey are 

 beginning to stir, and before the owls or 

 other hawks have begun to hunt. They 

 range far northward and do an immense 

 amount of good work in keeping in check 

 the numbers of injurious forms which 

 abound in the less settled country, and 

 which become a devastating plague at 

 times, when they reach an agricultural dis- 

 trict. 



Sir John Richardson, in his notes, 

 species as follows : "In the softness and 

 fullness of its plumage, its feathered legs, 

 and its habits, this bird bears some resem- 

 blance to the owls. It flies low, sits 

 for a long time on a branch of a tree 

 watching for frogs and mice and is often 

 seen sailing over the swampy pieces of 

 ground and hunting its prey in the sub- 

 dued daylight, which illumines even the 

 midnight in high latitudes." 



The ferruginous rough leg is a some- 

 what longer bird, but not much larger 

 footed, and in the country which, it inha- 

 bits the gophers and ground squirrels 

 replace the field mouse and do immense 

 damage. The ferrugineous rough leg has 

 been named the Squirrel Hawk because 

 of his fondness for ground squirrels and 

 his persistent persecution of the rodents. 



In the Mostly Beneficial Class I have 

 placed — 



One species of the genus Falco, viz. : 

 F. sparverius. 



Four species of the genus Buteo, viz. : 

 B. borealis, B. Lineatus, B. Swainsoni, 



B. latissimus. 



One species of the genus Circus, viz. : 



C. Hudsonius. 



It must be remembered here that in di- 

 viding these birds into the above men- 

 tioned groups their persecution of small 

 birds has been added to their destruction 

 to poulltry and game birds, and this addi- 

 tion has in some cases caused species 

 otherwise beneficial to be placed in the 

 other groups, whereas were the beneficial 

 or injurious qualities of the birds killed 

 by these hawks determined, I am sure the 

 percentage of injury done or beneficial 

 forms destroyed would be in many cases 

 reduced one half. I have, however, made 



special mention of those species and have 

 marked down the number of doubtful 

 damage separate from the decided injuries 

 resulting from destruction of poultry and 

 game. For this reason if we deduct the 

 number of cases where small birds were 

 taken from the total number of injurious 

 attacks made by the above five species', 

 we may safely include three of them in 

 the wholly beneficial or non-injurious 

 class, while the amount of injury done by 

 the remaining three dwindles into insig- 

 nificance. 



Of the first-mentioned species in this 

 class, namely, the Sparrow Hawk, F. spar- 

 verius, no stronger proof of his inability 

 to injure poultry is necessary than to 

 know the size of the bird. He is one of 

 the handsomest of our hawks, and a true 

 little falcon, abundant all over the coun- 

 try, especially in the fall, when they may 

 be seen sitting on nearly every other 

 fence-post on the look-out for grasshop- 

 pers or mice. Many farmers telll me he 

 steals young chickens, but an examina- 

 tion of stomachs of those shot about barns 

 and poultry yards reveals a very different 

 truth, in the shape of mice, and in 320 

 stomachs examined by Dr. Fisher, of the 

 U.S. Agricultural Department, only one 

 stomach contained the remains of a game 

 bird, none of poultry, 101 mice and other 

 marnmals, while insects were found in 244 

 and in 53 cases small birds were found 

 —a total of 74 per cent, entirely bene- 

 ficial, and of the 17 per cent, mjunous 

 le^s than one-third per cent, were injurious 

 to poultrv. By far the largest percentage 

 of the birds captured were proven to have 

 been, taken while the young were bemg 

 fed and when the parents had less time 

 to 'seek regular food. During seasons 

 when grasshoppers or terrestrial caterpil- 

 lars or other insects are numerous, these 

 birds may be seen in bands of considerable 

 numbers, old and young alike, hunting 

 about the woods and fields, and gorging 

 themselves on these pests. They are con- 

 fiding little fellows, and consequently, in 

 spite of their great value, are one of the 

 most persistently persecuted hawks. Any 

 vandal who can handle a gun or any boy 

 who can use a catapult or other destroy- 

 ir.g instrument, can kill the little sparrow 

 h?wk, and in cases where bounties were 

 paid for birds of prey, a majority of the 

 certificates were issued for sparrow hawks, 

 and in many places it is almost extermm- 

 cited where it was once exceedingly nu- 

 merous. 



The next species to be considered is 

 probably one of the best known and cer- 

 tainly the most easily recognized in our 

 prairie country, and especially by sports- 



