ORDERS OF BIRDS— BIRDS OF PREY 
230 
The Red-Shouldered Hawk 1 has not only 
“red” shoulders, but also a red head, neck, back 
and breast. But there are many shades of red, 
and the so-called red on this bird is as widely 
different from the red of a cardinal as blue is 
from green. The so-called “red” on this Hawk 
is really a rusty brown ; and by the great amount 
of it, the small, round head of the bird, and its 
black tail crossed by about six bands of white, 
this species may easily be distinguished from 
the preceding. 
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. 
This Hawk is to be counted with the farmer's 
best friends. Mr. J. Alden Loring knew a pair 
which for two years nested within fifty rods of a 
poultry-farm on which were about 800 young 
chickens and 400 ducks, but never attempted 
to catch one. Mice constitute two-tliirds of its 
food, but it is very fond of frogs and toads. In 
the 220 specimens which he examined, Dr. Fisher 
found the remains of creatures representing 
eleven classes of life. The food exhibit was 
made up as follows: 3 stomachs contained do- 
mestic fowls; 12, other birds; 102, mice; 40, 
■other small mammals (16 species in all); 20, 
reptiles; 3, fish; 39, amphibians (frogs and toads); 
1 Bu'te-o lin-e-a'tus. Average length of male, 18 
Inches; female, 20 inches. 
92, insects; 16, spiders; 7, crawfish, and 1, earth- 
worms. 
The service rendered by the Red-Shouldered 
Hawk consists chiefly in the destruction of mice 
and grasshoppers; and birds of all kinds are 
touched very lightly. This species inhabits 
eastern North America from Nova Scotia and 
Canada to the Gulf, and westward to the Plains. 
The Pacific coast contains a variety known as 
the Red-Bellied Hawk, which is quite as honest 
about poultry as the eastern species. 
The Sharp-Shinned Hawk 2 is a swift flyer, 
a keen hunter, and a great murderer of small 
birds. Like all the hawks, its upper surface is 
dark, and its lower surface light. Its tail is long, 
and has three or four narrow, dark-colored bands 
across it, far apart, with the widest band nearest 
to the end. The wings, back, upper neck sur- 
face and upper tail are all bluish-gray. The 
throat and under parts of the body are white, 
plentifully cross-barred with rusty brown. 
This is a small hawk, — next in size to the 
pigeon-hawk. Its beak seems rather small and 
weak, but its legs are long and its feet large, 
and these, backed up by swift flight and great 
courage and impudence, render this bird a winged 
terror. It hunts along fences like a dog hunting 
rabbits, and pursues song-birds into their thickets 
and out again. Its principal food is song-birds, 
and only at long intervals does it capture a mouse. 
This bird is rather too small to handle poultry 
with complete success. 
The complete list of the bird-remains found 
in 159 stomachs of Sharp-Shinned Hawks con- 
stitutes a tale of slaughtered innocents that is 
appalling. Six stomachs contained poultry, 
and 99 contained song-birds, woodpeckers and 
a few others. Only six contained mice, and 5, 
insects; and 52 were empty. Of the wild birds, 
56 species were identified. There can be no 
question regarding the necessity for the destruc- 
tion of this bird, wherever it is found. It breeds 
throughout the entire United States, northward 
to the arctic circle, and southward to Guatemala. 
(Fisher.) In some localities it is quite abundant. 
Cooper’s Hawk 3 is a companion in crime to 
the preceding species, and equally deserving an 
2 Ac-cip'i-ter vel'ox. Average length of male, 10.50 
inches; female, 13 inches. 
3 Ac-cip'i-ter cooperii. Average length of male, 
15.50 inches; female, 19 inches. 
