2 20 Birds Every Child Should Know 
and the rest of their under parts are much 
barred with buff and white. 
Instead of spending their time perching on 
lookouts, as the red-tailed and red-shouldered 
hawks do, these two reprobates dash after their 
victims on the wing, chasing them across open 
stretches where such swift, dexterous, dodging 
flyers are sure to overtake them. Or they will 
flash out of a clear sky like feathered lightning 
and boldly strike a chicken, though it be peck- 
ing corn near a farmer’s feet. These two 
marauders, and the big slate-coloured goshawk, 
also called the blue hen hawk or partridge 
hawk, stab their cruel talons though the vitals 
of more valuable poultry, song and game birds, 
than any child would care to read about. 
BALD EAGLE 
Every American boy and girl knows our 
national bird, which is the farmer’s ally, how- 
ever, only when it appears on the money in his 
pocket. Without an eagle on that, you must 
know it would be of little use to him. 
Truth to tell, this majestic emblem of our 
republic (borrowed from imperial Rome) that 
spreads itself gloriously over our coins, flag 
poles, public buildings and government docu- 
ments, is, in real life, not the bravest of the 
brave, nor the most intelligent, nor the noblest. 
