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The bald eagle feeds mainly on fish, and has little effect on 
the numbers of other birds. The red-tailed hawk is not now 
generally common. The red-shouldered hawk seldom kills 
birds or poultry, but, living largely on field-mice, is believed 
to be a friend to the farmer; but the goshawk, duck hawk, 
Cooper hawk and sharp-shinned hawk are all bird slayers. 
Of these four, the Cooper and sharp-shinned hawks, being 
most common, are most destructive. The duck hawk kills, 
like the cat, for the sake of killing. It pursues its prey on 
the wing, rapidly overtaking swift-flying ducks. Mr. C. E. 
Bailey reports seeing a duck hawk overtake and strike three 
teal in succession, and then fly off, leaving its victims lying 
on the water. Fortunately, this hawk is rather rare in 
Massachusetts. The goshawk is here occasionally in win- 
ter, but the Cooper hawk breeds here, and is still common, 
locally if not generally. This bird, which is sometimes 
known as the partridge hawk or chicken hawk, is a feath- 
ered pirate. Swift, keen and daring, it is the terror of both 
birds and poultry. It is the one bird of all others to neu- 
tralize the local efforts of the bird protectionist. It is par- 
ticularly obnoxious to the farmer, for, having once tasted 
chicken, it continues its forays until it is shot or the chick- 
ens shut up. It will sometimes kill full-grown fowls, but 
probably cannot carry them away. Its keen eye detects the 
mother bird sitting on the nest. At one swoop it snatches 
bird, nest, eggs and all in its powerful talons; or it spies 
the nestlings, and picks them up as food for its own young. 
Conspicuous songsters, like the brown thrasher, robin, wood 
thrush, rose-breasted grosbeak and scarlet tanager, are swept 
from their perches while in full song by this bold marauder, 
and borne to its ravening brood. Even the crafty blue jay 
does not always escape. As one of these hawks sweeps into 
a clearing and strikes its prey, every bird song becomes 
hushed. In a moment sparrows, warblers, thrushes, titmice, 
— all the loquacious, musical throng, — find cover, or 
crouch motionless in silent terror. Grim death has been 
among them, and it is long before they dare resume their 
activities. The sharp-shinned hawk is a miniature of the 
Cooper hawk, although perhaps a trifle slimmer in build. 
It is widely known as the chicken hawk, and is strong and 
