BurNS—On BROAD-WINGED Hawk. 211 
more than six hundred dead hawks, and there were many 
more killed on the other side of the creek that were not 
counted.” 
Dr. Shufeldt, in commenting on the above, says: “People 
entertain terribly mistaken ideas about the part hawks—and 
owls too, play in nature. A great many farmers have a notion 
that there are but two kinds of hawks, a big chicken hawk 
and a little chicken hawk, both of which menace their pros- 
perity by attacks upon the poultry yard. * * Greedy men! 
Doubly greedy farmer! * * It is said, and with truth, that 
they prey upon our smaller game birds—yes, and always to 
satisfy the instincts of hunger, and never simply for the 
sport of the thing, as men do all over the world.” 
Not content with the constant unorganized slaughter, 
many of our state legislatures have passed bounty laws from 
time to time in recognition of the supposed interests of the 
rural population. Rhode Island has been swept bare of 
breeding Broad-wings owing to recent “scalp act” and to 
the destruction of timber. Near Toronto, Ont., it seems to 
be decreasing, one woods usually inhabited, suffered badly 
from last year’s fire and the ax (Eifrig ms.) In the vicinity 
of Tallahassee, Fla., it invites its own destruction in a man- 
ner which is characteristic of the species. Just as soon as 
one enters its haunts it sets up its shrill cry. It is only a 
matter of locating the nest-tree within the circumscribed area 
the bird has marked out (Williams ms). Owing to the fe— 
male’s solicitude for its nest during the breeding season, it 
falls victim much oftener than the male. I believe most col- 
lections will show a marked excess of the former over the 
latter. 
Disposition in the Presence of Other Birds. 
It is not quarrelsome: as a rule it will dwell in peace with 
its neighbors. I have found crows nesting all around it in 
perfect harmony apparently ; and was once almost mobbed, my- 
self, while robbing a Broad-wing’s nest, byi a party of Fish 
Crows. Its comparative immunity from attacks of the semi- 
domesticated species, is doubtless due to its habit of confining 
