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SUBSPECIES. The western form Melopelia asiatica trudeaui is the only one to 
be expected in western Canada. 
To be identified only with great care, by unmistakable evidence or 
actual specimen. 
Order— Raptores. Birds of Prey 
General Description. Flesh-eating birds with four well-developed toes (Figures 31 
and 32, page 28), each armed with a strong sharp claw or talon for seizing and holding 
prey. Bill is hooked (Figures 30, 33 a and b, and 34, pages 28 and 29), and the base 
covered with a swollen soft skin or cere in which the nostrils are situated. The Birds 
of Prey differ from the generality of birds in that the females are considerably larger than 
the males. This is probably due to the greater strain placed upon the female in feeding 
her young. This greater responsibility, demanding strength, weight, and endurance 
rather than fine technique, necessitates a higher development of these qualities in the 
female than in the male who, although he may assist his mate, has not the final responsi- 
bility for the growing family. 
Distribution. Raptorial birds are distributed over all the world except the Antarctic 
continent, where their place is taken by the Skuas, Gulls, and other rapacious sea-birds. 
Though the classification of this order is far from satisfactory and 
probably will be revised, American practice divides our species into three 
suborders: Sarcorhamphi , the American Vultures, distinct from those of 
the Old World; Falcones, the Diurnal Birds of Prey; and Striges, the 
Nocturnal Birds of Prey or Owls. 
Economic Status. Perhaps no birds are better known and at the same 
time so generally misunderstood in their economic relations as these. 
All know of the Hawks, Owls, and Eagles and their flesh-eating propensities, 
but few realize that amongst them are some of man’s best friends and that 
the popular policy of killing them indiscriminately is a mistaken one. Some 
do considerable damage, but to include all in the condemnation merited by 
the few is a grave economic error. The first family, the Vultures, are 
repulsive birds, but as scavengers exceedingly useful, and no valid com- 
plaint can be lodged against them. Of the other two divisions, the Diurnal 
and Nocturnal Bapaces, their mixed status is the cause of much miscon- 
ception. Fortunately in regard to these birds we can speak with authority 
based upon actual data and not mere speculation. The United States 
Biological Survey made a thorough study of the food habits of American 
Hawks and Owls, basing its conclusions upon the examination of about 
2,700 stomachs taken in all seasons of the year in various parts of the 
United States and Canada. The whole, with the data for its substantia- 
tion, is embodied in a report, “The Hawks and Owls of the United States,” 
by Dr. A. K. Fisher. 1 . Although compiled in and for an adjoining country 
all Canadian species are treated, and the results are as applicable to Canada 
as to the United States. As some of the less harmful species do not occur in 
Canada the following percentages should be slightly altered for our use, 
but not enought to modify perceptibly the general conclusions. Only 
six of the seventy-three species studied are injurious. Of these, three are 
extremely rare in Canada, and one is altogether a fish-eater. Of the 
remainder, 56 per cent of the stomachs examined contained mice and other 
small mammals, 27 per cent insects, and only 3§ per cent poultry or game- 
birds. Dividing the 33 raptorial birds of western Canada into groups 
according to their economic status we find that four species are wholly 
i See also “The Hawks of the Canadian Prairie Provinces in Their Relation to Agriculture,” Geol. Surv 
Can., Mus. Bull. 28, 1918. 
