Range 
Breetis in the United States, Mexico, 
Costa’ Rica, Canada, and Alaska; winters 
generally im the United States and south 
to Gautemala. 
Habits and Economic Status 
The red-tailed hawk, or “hen hawk,” as 
it is commonly called, is one of the best 
known of all our birds of prey, and is a 
widely distributed species of great econ- 
omic importance. Its habit of sitting on 
some prominent limb or pole in the open, 
or flying with measured wing beat over 
prairies and sparsely wooded areas on the 
lookout for its favorite prey, causes it 
to be noticed by the most indifferent ob- 
server. Although not as omnivorous as 
the red-shouldered hawk, it feeds on a 
variety of food, as small mammals, 
snakes, frogs, insects, birds, crawfish, 
centipedes, and even carrion. In regions 
where rattlesnakes abound it destroys 
considerable numbers of the _ reptiles. 
Although it feeds to a certain extent on 
poultry and birds, it is nevertheless en- 
titled to general protection on account of 
the insistent warfare it wages against 
field mice and other small rodents and 
insects that are so destructive to young 
orchards, nursery stock, and farm prod- 
uce. Out of 530 stomachs examined, 457, 
or 85 per cent, contained the remains of 
mammal pests such as field mice, pine 
mice, rabbits, several species of ground 
squirrels, pocket gophers, and cotton rats, 
and only 62 contained the remains of 
poultry or game birds. 
Cooper’s Hawk 
Accipiter cooperi 
Length, about 15 inches. Medium sized, 
with long tail and short wings, and 
without the white patch on rump which 
is characteristic of the marsh hawk. 
Range 
Breeds throughout most of the United 
States and Southern Canada; winters 
from the United States to Costa Rica. 
Habits and Eeonomiec Status 
The Cooper’s hawk, or “blue darter,” 
as it is familiarly known throughout the 
South, is preeminently a poultry and bird- 
eating species, and its destructiveness in 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
this direction is surpassed only by that 
of its larger congener, the goshawk, which 
occasionally in autumn and winter enters 
the United States from the North in 
great numbers. The almost universal 
prejudice against birds of prey is largely 
due to the activities of these two birds, 
assisted by a third, the sharp-shinned 
hawk, which in habits and appearance 
might well pass for a small Cooper’s 
hawk. These birds usually approach un- 
der cover and drop upon unsuspecting 
victims, making great inroads upon 
poultry yards and game coverts favorably 
situated for this style of hunting Out of 
123 stomachs examined, 38 contained the 
remains of poultry and game birds, 66 the 
remains of other birds, and 12 the re- 
mains of mammals. Twenty-eight species 
of wild birds were identified in the above- 
mentioned material This destructive 
hawk, together with its two near rela- 
tives, should be destroyed by every pos- 
sible means. 
Mourning Dove 
Zenaidura macrowa 
Length, 12 inches. The dark spot on 
the side of the neck distinguishes this 
bird from all other native doves and 
pigeons except the white-winged dove. 
The latter has the upper third of wing 
white. 
Range 
Breeds throughout the United States 
and in Mexico, Gautemala and Southern 
Canada; winters fram the Central United 
States to Panama. 
Habits and Economie Status 
The food of the mourning dove is prac- 
tically all vegetable matter (over 99 per 
cent), principally seeds of plants, includ- 
ing grain. Wheat, oats, rye, corn, bar- 
ley, and buckwheat were found in 150 out 
of 237 stomachs, and constituted 32 per 
cent of the food. Three-fourths of this 
was waste grain picked up after harvest. 
The principal and almost constant diet 
is weed seeds, which are eaten through- 
out the year and constitute 64 per cent of 
the entire food. In one stomach were 
found 7,500 seeds of yellow wood sor- 
rel, in another 6,400 seeds of barn grass 
or foxtail, and in a third 2,600 seeds of 
