PREDACIOUS BIRDS are not sweepingly condemned in this 

 publication. On the contrary, the Bureau of Biological Survey 

 advocates protection for all hawks and owls except the Cooper's and 

 sharp-shinned hawks, the goshawk, and the great horned owl. Many 

 hawks and most owls are great consumers of small rodents, and the 

 economic effects of their feeding habits are decidedly in the right 

 direction. 



Prevention is here emphasized as the more desirable means of 

 protecting poultry against the birds of prey, for it safeguards the 

 poultry without resort to the destruction of chiefly valuable wild 

 birds. 



Furthermore, these birds enjoy a considerable degree of legal 

 protection. Some States single out the bald eagle and the fish hawk 

 for protection, but, with the exceptions noted and sometimes with 

 others, hawks in general are protected by more than 20 States, and 

 more than 30 protect all or most owls. 



Anyone contemplating aggressive action against hawks or owls 

 should consult the conservation department of his State as to their 

 legal status. 



Washington, D.C. September 1933 



