THE HAWKS. 



Among the birds that are most useful 

 to man may be classed the Hawks. They, 

 with the vultures, the eagles and the 

 owls, belong to the bird order Raptores, 

 or birds of prey. Unlike the vultures the 

 Hawks feed upon living prey while the 

 former seek the dead or dying animal. 

 The vultures are often called "Nature's 

 Scavengers," and in many localities they 

 have been so carefully protected that 

 they will frequent the streets of towns, 

 seeking food in the gutters. 



The family Falconidae, which includes 

 the Hawks, the falcons, the vultures, the 

 kites, and the eagles — all diurnal birds 

 of prey — num^bers about three hundred 

 and fifty species, of which between forty 

 and fifty are found in North America. 

 The remainder are distributed through- 

 out the world. 



The flight of the Hawks is more 

 than beautiful, it is majestic. Even 

 when perched high in the air on the top 

 of a dead monarch of the forest, there is 

 a silent dignity in their pose. It is from 

 these perches that some of the species 

 watch the surrounding country for their 

 prey, swooping down upon it when ob- 

 served and seizing it in their long, sharp 

 and curved claws. Their food is almost 

 invariably captured while on the wing. 

 The bill, which is short, hooked and with 

 sinuate cutting edges, is used for tear- 

 ing the flesh of its victim into shreds. 



Among our more common hawks 

 there are but five or six that may truth- 

 fully be classed among the birds that are 

 injurious to the interests of man. Among 

 these, the Cooper's hawk and the sharp- 

 shinned hawk deserve the most atten- 

 tion, as they feed almost entirely upon 

 other birds and poultry. To these two 

 the name chicken hawk may be aptly 

 applied. The domestic pigeon is a dainty 

 morsel for tliese ravagcrs of the barn- 

 yard. On the other hand, by far the larger 



number of the Hawks are of great value 

 to man. They are gluttonous whenever 

 the food supply is unlimited, and, as their 

 powers of digestion are wonderfully de- 

 veloped, it takes but a short time for the 

 food to be absorbed and they are then 

 ready for more. With their keen eye- 

 sight they readily detect the rodents and 

 other small mammals that are so destruc- 

 tive to crops and with a remarkable 

 swiftness of flight they pounce upon 

 them. Dr. Fisher says, ''Of the rapa- 

 cious bird's with which our country is so 

 well furnished, there are but few which 

 deserve to be put on the black list and 

 pursued without mercy. The greater 

 number either pass their whole lives in 

 the constant performance of acts of di- 

 rect benefit to man or else more than 

 make good the harm they do in the de- 

 struction of insectivorous birds and poul- 

 try by destroying a much greater num- 

 ber of mammals well known to be hos- 

 tile to the farmer." 



Dr. Fisher obtained the tollowing re- 

 sults from the examination of the stom- 

 achs of two thousand, two hundred and 

 twelve birds of prey. This number does 

 not include any of those that feed exten- 

 sively upon game and poultry. In three 

 and one-half per centum the remains of 

 poultry or game birds were found ; eleven 

 per centum' contained remains of other 

 birds ; forty-two and one-half per centum 

 contained the remains of mice ; in four- 

 teen per centum other mammals were 

 found and twenty-seven per centum con- 

 tained insect remains. This summary 

 includes not only the Hawks but also the 

 owls, eagles and related birds. It is evi- 

 dent from thes'e results that man has a 

 friend in these birds that is of inestima- 

 ble value to him. 



The use of falcons and Hawks in the 

 chase dates far back in the history of the 

 Old World. For ages it was one of the 



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