MARSH HAWK (Circus hudsonius). 



Length, about 19 inches. The ashy upper parts, 

 white rump and long tail of the adult male suffi- 

 ciently distinguish this hawk; while the fuscous 

 upper parts and buff under parts much streaked 

 with brown distinguish the female and young. 



Range: Breeds through much of Canada, south 

 to the middle United States; winters in the United 

 States, especially in the south. 



Though not exclusively a marsh frequenter, as its 

 name might seem to imply, this hawk prefers open 

 country, and its favorite hunting grounds are 

 meadow and marsh, in which it nests on the ground. 

 It flies rather low, the better to see and drop sud- 

 denly upon the luckless meadow mice — its favorite 

 food. Unfortunately small birds form part of its 

 fare, and there are localities, like Cape Cod and 

 Martha's Vineyard, in Massachusetts, where this 

 hawk has earned a bad reputation as a destroyer of 

 poultry and game. However, over much the larger 

 part of the vast territory it inhabits, the marsh hawk 

 is a rodent eater, and the debt of gratitude it lays 

 upon the farmer is large. This debt should be fully 

 discharged by preserving the bird and encouraging 

 its presence unless it is caught committing overt 

 acts. In other words, as this hawk is very bene- 

 ficial over most of its range, individual hawks should 

 be presumed to be innocent unless detected in trans- 

 gression. 



OSPREY (Pandion halisetus carolinensis). 



Length, about 23 inches. The great size, brown 

 upper parts and white under parts are distinguish- 

 ing features. 



Range: Breeds from northwestern Alaska, and 

 central Canada south to the Gulf Coast, western 

 Mexico and Lower California; winters from the 

 southern United States, Lower California and 

 Mexico to Central America. 



A thin, high pitched whistle, the alarm as well as 

 the call note of the osprey, frequently directs the 

 attention of the passer by to this fine hawk as he 

 circles high in air on the watch for fish. The bird 

 is common along our coast and to some extent along 

 our rivers, and his bulky nest of twigs, often in low 

 trees or sometimes on the ground, frequently attests 

 his former presence when he is wintering elsewhere. 

 When unmolested, ospreys return to their own strip 

 of territory year after year, and they and their de- 

 scendants probably rear their young in the same 

 nest for generations, repairing it from season to sea- 

 son as necessity requires. Tne osprey lives solely 

 on fish which he catches himself — he disdains carrion 

 — diving from mid air upon his quarry and often 

 burying himself in the water momentarily by the 

 force of his descent. He often fastens his talons in 

 the back of a large fish, which proves too heavy, and 

 he has to abandon it; but usually he succeeds in 

 carrying his prey to his nest, though his slow and 

 labored wing-beats often prove how heavy is his 

 load. Notwithstanding the fact that the osprey 

 makes no direct return for the fish he eats, no one 

 can doubt that indirectly he renders a full equiva- 

 lent. Visitors to the seashore, and even old resi- 

 dents, never tire of watching his superb flight and 

 interesting habits, and his plunge, after his quarry, 

 whether successful or unsuccessful, is a sight to be 

 remembered. 



TURKEY BUZZARD (Cathartes aura sep- 

 tentrionalis). 



Length, about 30 inches. The naked head and 

 neck and glossy black plumage are distinctive. 



Range: Extends from southwestern Canada, 

 northern Minnesota, southern New York and south 

 into northern Mexico and Lower California. 



This buzzard displays superb powers of flight 

 which even the eagle cannot surpass, and no small 

 part of its time is spent in the upper air, describing 

 great circles on motionless wings as if for the mere 

 pleasure of flight. Let another buzzard, however, 

 discover a carcass, and the movements of our aero- 

 naut as he hastens to the feast are at once noted by 

 his next neighbor, and his by a third, till the 

 carrion feeders of a wide territory are assembled. 

 Sight and not smell, then, is depended on by the 

 buzzard to guide him to his food. Though of great 

 strength and provided with a formidable bill, the 

 buzzard rarely, if ever, attacks living animals, unless 

 they are disabled, but depends upon death to pro- 

 vide for his wants. No doubt his ability to fast is as 

 great as his capacity for gorging himself when occa- 

 sion offers, and he must often go for days without 

 food. As a scavenger the buzzard does good service 

 and no sound reason exists for destroying him, not- 

 withstanding the fact that occasionally the bird may 

 be instrumental in spreading hog cholera by trans- 

 porting the germs on his feet and bill. This disease, 

 however, may be, and no doubt often is, transmitted 

 by the feet of so many other birds, especially the 

 English sparrow, and of so many mammals, espe- 

 cially rats, and even on the footwear of man himself 

 as to lead to the belief that if every buzzard in the 

 hog cholera districts were to be sacrificed no percep- 

 tible diminution of the disease would follow. The 

 bird should continue to enjoy the protection which is 

 at present accorded it in nearly every state of the 

 Union. 



BALD EAGLE (Haliaetus leucocephalus and 



sub-species). 



Length, about 33 inches. The white head (adult) 

 and naked tarsus distinguish this species from the 

 golden eagle. 



Range: A resident of Alaska, much of Canada, 

 and the whole of the United States in suitable locali- 

 ties. 



Though a fisherman by profession, the white head 

 is by no means the master of his craft that the osprey 

 is. In fact he never fishes for himself so long as he 

 can rob the more skilful and more industrious fish 

 hawk. When necessity compels, however, he fishes 

 to some purpose, and much after the manner of his 

 erstwhile victim, the fish hawk. He is far less fas- 

 tidious in his food habits than that bird, however, 

 and often gorges himself until he cannot fly on dead 

 fish gathered along shore, especially on the great 

 salmon rivers of the northwest. When fish are 

 scarce and waterfowl are plentiful, the white head 

 has little difficulty in living off them. Complaint 

 is made in Alaska, where the bald eagle is numerous, 

 that he sometimes interferes with blue fox farming 

 by killing the animals for food. Though the blue 

 fox is not a large animal he is by no means a pigmy, 

 and the bird who would make him his quarry must 

 needs possess both strength and determination. As 

 this eagle has been taken for our National emblem 

 it would seem to be the part of patriotism to condone 

 his faults and remember only his virtues, among 

 which are a magnificent presence, superb powers of 

 flight, and his devoted care of his family. 



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