2 i 6 Birds Every Child Should Know 
hawks are brought — I mean those scientific 
men in the Department of Agriculture, Washing- 
ton, who examine the contents of birds’ stom- 
achs to learn just what food is taken in different 
parts of the country and at different seasons 
of the year — the two so-called “hen hawks” 
were proved to be rare offenders, and great 
helpers. Two hundred and twenty stomachs 
of red-shouldered hawks were examined by 
Dr. Fisher, and only three contained remains 
of poultry, while one hundred and two con- 
tained mice; ninety-two, insects; forty, moles 
and other small mammals ; fifty-nine, frogs and 
snakes, and so on. The percentage of poultry 
eaten is so small that it might be reduced to 
nothing if the farmers would keep their chickens 
in yards instead of letting them roam to pick 
up a living in the fields, where the temptation 
to snatch up one must be overwhelming to a 
hungry hawk. Fortunately these two benefi- 
cent “hen hawks,” are still common, in spite 
of our ignorant persecution of them for two 
hundred years or more. 
Toward the end of summer, especially in 
September, when nursery duties have ended 
for the year and the hawks are care free, you 
may see them sailing in wide spirals, delighting 
in the cooler stratum of air high overhead. 
Balancing on wide, outstretched wings, floating 
serenely with no apparent effort, they enjoy 
