THE HAWK BOUNTY QUESTION. 



J. E. TYLOK. 



In December Recreation Mr. W. T. 

 Hornaday gave some valuable advice relat- 

 ing to the hawk bounty subject. Those 

 who advocate such a policy, hoping thereby 

 to exterminate hawks and owls, should read 

 what this eminent authority has to say. 

 Mr. Hornaday does not indulge in specu- 

 lation when he advocates the protection 

 rather than the destruction of certain 

 hawks and owls. On the contrary, the 

 matter having been scientifically investi- 



all counted alike. This spirit of destruc- 

 tion even extended to the fish hawk and its 

 nest of young; until it cost the taxpayers 

 many thousands of dollars and the law had 

 to be repealed or the county become bank- 

 rupt. 



Last spring I visited a nest of the barred 

 owl. It contained 2 young birds a few 

 days old and one spoiled egg. There was 

 also in the nest a bountiful supply of pro- 

 visions for the rapacious appetites of the 



AIVATEUR PHOTO BY J. E. TYICR 



YOUNG BARRED OWLS AND THEIR MORNING BREAKFAST. 



gated, no longer stands on theory, but on 

 established fact; the final judgment being to 

 kill the Cooper hawk and the sharp shinned, 

 but to regard the others, generally speaking, 

 as more beneficial than destructive. 



In Talbot county, Maryland, several 

 years ago, a bounty of 50 cents was paid for 

 every hawk and owl head, regardless of 

 kind. School boys searched the orchards 

 for hollow trees wherein the little screech 

 owl might dwell, and before taking the life 

 of the parent bird, frequently waited for the 

 eggs to hatch, that the whole family might 

 be sacrificed, as little heads and big heads 



young birds. These consisted of a grey 

 squirrel, with its head eaten off; 4 field 

 mice, 2 being partly devoured ; one wood 

 rat, head eaten off; and 2 garden moles. 

 These I photographed, and though unfortu- 

 nately I did not secure a satisfactory nega- 

 tive, nevertheless it gives a truthful bill of 

 fare. The squirrel was still warm, while 

 the 7 rodents were freshly killed. If that 

 represents one meal, how many pests will a 

 pair of adult owls destroy in a year? 



I submit the enclosed picture as some evi- 

 dence, at least, that the barred owl has a. 

 just claim for friendly consideration. 



Pallette — De Auber is an odd genius. 

 Brushly — What's he up to now? 

 Pallette — He is painting a $300 portrait 

 of a 30-cent man. — Chicago News, 

 19 



