AMERICAN BIRDS OF PREY 



465 



some credit, as he, too, kills his full share, 

 but in addition to a diet of valuable prey. 



Of the Buteos, or "Soaring Hawks," 

 the big Red-tail is the commonest and 

 most widely diffused, and consequently 

 the most important. Almost universally 

 dubbed "Henhawk," this valuable species 

 is universally persecuted and shot on 

 sight. 



Let us take the summary of Dr. Fish- 

 er's examinations of 562 stomaches of 

 Red-tails from all over the United States. 

 Of these, 89 were empty, leaving 473 

 which carried evidence. Of- these, 54 

 contained poultry or game, 278 contained 

 mice, 131 other mammals (28 species of 

 destructive mammals), 37 batrachians or 

 reptiles, 47 insects, 8 crabs, and 13 offal. 



If a Red-tail is caught in the act of 

 killing poultry it should be shot, as it "has 

 the habit." The above record shows 

 plainly, however, that the preponderance 

 of-evide-Hceis vastly in favor of the spe- 

 cies, whose size and appetite make it a 

 most effective and valuable ally of the 

 farmer in his fight against the mice and 

 rats that menace his labors. 



All over the West another large and 

 conspicuous hawk is found, which is a 

 great killer of vermin, particularly of 

 small rodents. This is Swainson's Hawk, 

 whose record is absolutely clean, its 

 whole food being divided about equally 

 between small mammals and insects. 



THE RED-SHOULDER SHOUED BE 

 ENCOURAGED 



Another very common and widely dis- 

 tributed "Henhawk" is the Red-shoulder. 

 This bird has an even better record than 

 the Red-tails. Some 200 examined re- 

 vealed only 3 which had eaten poultry, 

 12 small birds, 142 mice and other mam- 

 mals, 92 insects, and a number with mis- 

 cellaneous food. 



Mr. Alden Loring, who watched a pair 

 of this species that nested near a poultry 

 farm, says : "The pair reared their young 

 for two years about 50 rods from a poul- 

 try farm containing 800 young chickens 

 and 400 ducks, and the keeper told me he 

 had never seen the hawks attempt to 

 catch one." This hawk deserves to be 

 encouraged to the utmost, and both it and 

 the Red-tail should be relieved of the 

 false title by which they are so generally 

 known and designated, either by their 



proper names or as "^lousehawk," and 

 accordingly treated. 



The Broad-wing, the small member of 

 this group, does not often fall into the 

 hands of farmers and gunners, as it is a 

 forest hawk that seldom leaves the shade 

 and shelter of the woods. Its particular 

 claim to man's protection lies in its par- 

 tiality to the large, fat caterpillars of the 

 big Cecropia, Polyphemus, and similar 

 large moths that defoliate the forest 

 trees. It also, of course, consumes quan- 

 tities of field-mice, voles, and shrews, and 

 small snakes are favorite food. 



The two Rough-legs feed almost exclu- 

 sively on mice. The eastern Rough-leg 

 comes to the northern States only in win- 

 ter, and is not common enough to be of 

 much economic importance. Of 45 stom- 

 achs of this species containing food, 40 

 contained' field-mice and 5 other small 

 mammals. 



Over all western America the Ferru- 

 ginous Rough-leg, or "Squirrel Hawk," 

 is a fairly common and very important 

 species. 



With the utilization of large areas 

 through irrigation, the ground-squirrels 

 of the Citellus group have multiplied 

 enormously, and not only cost the region 

 millions of dollars in the grain and pro- 

 duce consumed, but do untold damage by 

 burrowing in the irrigation dikes, caus- 

 ing floods to pour over the land at times 

 when they are fatal to crops. By far the 

 most effective enemy of these pestiferous 

 rodents is the Red Rough-leg, or "Squir- 

 rel Hawk," and, as with the less desirable 

 species, it has responded to the abundance 

 of food, and has within comparatively 

 few years become the principal check 

 upon the greatly increased numbers of 

 destructive ground-squirrels. 



THE OSPREY, OUR LARGEST HAWK 



The Osprey, or Fishhawk, as its name 

 implies, feeds exclusively upon fish. It 

 is our largest hawk, being almost as im- 

 pressive on the wing as the Eagle him- 

 .self. Its food consists almost wholly of 

 the sluggish fish, such as carp and suck- 

 ers, and it is in no sense a competitor of 

 the angler or the commercial fisherman. 

 It is our most picturesque bird of prey 

 and should by all means enjoy perfect 

 immunity and protection. 



England, now almost without Ospreys, 



