230 



OKDERS OF BIRDS— BIEUS OF PREY 



The Red-Shouldered Hawk 1 has not only 

 "red" shoulders, but also a red head, neck, back 

 and breast. But there are many shades of red, 

 and the so-called red on this bird is as widely 

 different from the red of a cardinal as blue is 

 from green. The so-called "red" on this Hawk 

 is really a rusty brown ; and by the great amount 

 of it, the small, round head of the bird, and its 

 black tail crossed by about six bands of white, 

 ttus species may easily be distinguished from 

 the preceding. 



SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. 



This Hawk is to be counted with the farmer's 

 best friends. Mr. J. Alden Loring knew a pair 

 which for two years nested within fifty rods of a 

 poultry-farm on which were about 800 young 

 chickens and 400 ducks, but never attempted 

 to catch one. Mice constitute two-thirds of its 

 food, but it is very fond of frogs and toads. In 

 the 220 specimens which he examined, Dr. Fisher 

 found the remains of creatures representing 

 eleven classes of life. The food exhibit was 

 made up as follows: 3 stomachs contained do- 

 mestic fowls; 12, other birds; 102, mice; 40, 

 other small mammals (16 species in all); 20, 

 reptiles; 3, fish; 39, amphibians (frogs and toads); 



1 Bu'te-o lin-e-a'tus. Average length of male, 18 

 inches; female, 20 inches. 



92, insects; 16, spiders; 7, crawfish, and 1, earth- 

 worms. 



The service rendered by the Red-Shouldered 

 Hawk consists chiefly in the destruction of mice 

 and grasshoppers; and birds of all kinds are 

 touched very lightly. This species inhabits 

 eastern North America from Nova Scotia and 

 Canada to the Gulf, and westward to the Plains. 

 The Pacific coast contains a variety known as 

 the Red-Bellied Hawk, which is quite as honest 

 about poultry as the eastern species. 



The Sharp-Shinned Hawk 2 is a swift flyer, 

 a keen hunter, and a great murderer of small 

 birds. Like all the hawks, its upper surface is 

 dark, and its lower surface light. Its tail is long, 

 and has three or four narrow, dark-colored bands 

 across it, far apart, with the widest band nearest 

 to the end. The wings, back, upper neck sur- 

 face and upper tail are all bluish-gray. The 

 throat and under parts of the body are white, 

 plentifully cross-barred with rusty brown. 



This is a small hawk, — next in size to the 

 pigeon-hawk. Its beak seems rather small and 

 weak, but its legs are long and its feet large, 

 and these, backed up by swift flight and great 

 courage and impudence, render this bird a winged 

 terror. It hunts along fences like a dog hunting 

 rabbits, and pursues song-birds into their thickets 

 and out again. Its principal food is song-birds, 

 and only at long intervals does it capture a mouse. 

 This bird is rather too small to handle poultry 

 with complete success. 



The complete list of the bird-remains found 

 in 159 stomachs of Sharp-Shinned Hawks con- 

 stitutes a tale of slaughtered innocents that is 

 appalling. Six stomachs contained poultry, 

 and 99 contained song-birds, woodpeckers and 

 a few others. Only six contained mice, and 5, 

 insects ; and 52 were empty. Of the wild birds, 

 56 species were identified. There can be no 

 question regarding the necessity for the destruc- 

 tion of this bird, wherever it is found. It breeds 

 throughout the entire United States, northward 

 to the arctic circle, and southward to Guatemala. 

 (Fisher.) In some localities it is quite abundant. 



Cooper's Hawk 3 is a companion in crime to 

 the preceding species, and equally deserving an 



2 Ac-cip'i-ter vel'ox. Average length of male, 10.50 

 inches; female, 13 inches. 



3 Ac-cip'i-ter cooperii. Average length of male, 

 15.50 inches; female, 19 inches. 



