THE MENACE FROM ABOVE 81 



tents from all the varieties of hawks and owls 

 found in New York State, compiled from many 

 careful investigations. In only 10 per cent, of the 

 red-tailed hawks was any trace of poultry or game, 

 and in only 9 per cent, any trace of other birds. The 

 red-shouldered had a still smaller percentage. In 

 both species 50 per cent, showed mice, and 45 per 

 cent, of the red-shouldered showed insects. Doctor 

 Eaton classes the red-tailed hawk as "near the bor- 

 der-line of beneficent birds," however, and he puts 

 the common marsh-hawk in the same rather doubt- 

 ful class, because of its raids on birds, along with the 

 barred and snowy owls. He leaves in the unques- 

 tionably injurious class, as birds of prey which should 

 be exterminated, only these: the goshawk, Cooper's 

 hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, duck-hawk, pigeon- 

 hawk, and great horned owl. They are the ones 

 which do the real damage, both goshawks and great 

 horned owls, for example, showing as high as 36 and 

 25 per cent., respectively, of poultry and game in the 

 stomach contents examined, while the pigeon-hawk 

 showed 85 per cent, of other birds, and the duck- 

 hawk 35 per cent, of poultry and game and 45 per 

 cent, of other birds. In none was there any com- 

 mensurate percentage of mice or insects to balance 

 this destruction. 



So far as my own state of Massachusetts is con- 

 cerned, there is no doubt that the goshawk during 

 the severe winter of 191 7-1 8 was the most serious 

 menace to all our small wild game, next to the 

 weather, and even a serious menace to our domestic 

 fowls. Not only did this vicious, cruel, and in- 

 credibly swift and powerful bird, supposedly an 



