13 



Now, in order that the observer may be 

 able to determine the most injurious species 

 from the harmless and benficial, I shall 

 again refer to their different character- 

 istics. 



When a hawk is observed beating stead- 

 ily back and forth, sailing and dodging 

 about theprairie or marsh, or sulkily and 

 indolently perched upon a post, branch or 

 clod of earth, usuually disregarding the 

 approaching team or pedestrian on the 

 highway, it may safely be concluded that 

 this is not a thief and that he seems to 

 realize it, and is therefore undisturbed by 

 approach. And should one be observed 

 about the farm-yard perched on the stack, 

 barn or fence-post, even though poultry 

 are about, he will not bother them, for he 

 is after mice. But should a hawk be ob- 

 served bearing down upon the place at an 

 unusual rate of speed, never altering its 

 course, and dashing among the startled 

 fowl, you may know it is a thief, and must 



be ready for him before he arrives, in order 

 to frighten him off or get a shot at him as 

 he whirls behind the barn or stack with a 

 hen. Should you not be fortunate enough 

 to see him coming, and suddenly see the 

 streak of feathers flash past and hear a dis- 

 turbance among the fowl, if you are not 

 very sharp you will not even see him 

 dodge off with the fowl and will not realize 

 what has happened until you count your 

 poultry, as when this bird makes the fatal 

 swoop, nothing but death can stop his at- 

 tack, and an army of musketry and dogs 

 could not make noise enough to disturb 

 him. Consequently, it is only on chance 

 occasions that an opportunity is given to 

 punish the culprit, unless, after repeated 

 visits, a watch is kept for the approach, a 

 quick shot is made and the thief dropped, 

 and this invariably results in the loss of 

 more time than the value of the poultry 

 taken. 



SMALL MAMMALS OF MANITOBA DESTROYED 

 BY BIRDS OF PREY. 



The small mammals which constitute the 

 greater portion of the bill of fare of the 

 birds of prey, and those most destructive 

 to agricultural interests, are mice and 

 gophers. Of the former group there are, 

 besides the domestic mouse, three species 

 which may be considered common, and 

 whose ravages are worthy of attention. 

 Chief among these in numbers and de- 

 structiveness is the common field mouse 

 (Arvicola riparius) . This chunky, short- 

 tailed, unintelligent-looking little animal is 

 familiar to nearly everyone, being of wide 

 distribution in our province, and it will 

 always be found in greater or less numbers 

 wherever there is a grain field or granary. 

 The field mice nest below the ground in the 

 fields, so that they are constantly in the 

 midst of abundance of food with a mini- 

 mum of exposure to enemies. They are 

 exceedingly prolific, and it is estimated 

 that the increase under favorable circum- 

 stances from one pair of mice would be 

 over 14,000 mice in five years, if we allow 

 each pair to breed for two years, as each 

 pair will raise at least ten young each year. 

 The numbers of these animals in a given 

 district would seem almost incredil)le to 

 the majority of people, as the animals are 

 mostl.v nocturnal, and, unless disturbed by 

 daylight, they never move from their hid- 

 ing place, and when disturbed they readily 

 hide behind any cover available. On ac- 

 count of the favorable protective grey color 



of the animal, they generally escape obser- 

 vation, unless one is especially looking for 

 them. On one occasion, in September, 

 1897, I was desirous of securing some of 

 these mice. I visited a field where thresh- 

 ing was in operation, and, with two boys, I 

 followed the stock teams about, and in less 

 than one acre of ground captured sixty 

 specimens, and during this time as many 

 more escaped uncaptured or were killed 

 and eaten by a dog in attendance. The 

 boys subsequently visited the same field for 

 the sport of killing the animals, and inform 

 me that my catch was only an average to 

 be found over the whole section. This 

 would mean, allowing two-thirds the num- 

 ber captured to have escaped, 100 mice per 

 acre, or 64,000 mice on that section. Now, 

 as by experiment I proved that 50 mice 

 would destroy one pint of grain daily, and 

 as this grain was standing stooked for 

 about three weeks before threshing, these 

 animals would have consumed large quan- 

 tities of grain. At this rate a few pairs of 

 mice wintering in a stack or granary would 

 be very damaging to the farmer m one 

 season. This is the species which most 

 frequently falls a prey to the rough-legged 

 hawk during twilight or to the owls which 

 bunt by night. A pair of owls O'r hawks 

 about a grain stack during the harvest will 

 do much towards the extermination of 

 these pests. Seeming to know their own 

 powers of hiding, they are very bold and 



