336 
BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
“Washington, Marchs, lSSO.” 
“B. H. Warren, M. D., West Chester , Pa. : 
“ Dear Sir : In reply to your favor of the 1st inst., asking for my opinion with 
regard to the economic utility of the birds of prey, I take pleasure in responding as 
follows : To the ornithologist, whose business it is to study the habits of birds, the 
widespread ignorance of the habits of the hawk and owl tribe, and the mistaken idea 
as to the amount of injury they do are almost inconceivable. 
“So common, however, are these erroneous ideas respecting the birds of prey and 
their relations to the farmer and agriculturist that it is not at all surprising that laws 
similar to the one now in force in Pennsylvania should be enacted. 
“ Your own investigations into the nature of the food of the birds of prey of your 
county might be cited in suppoit of the statement that such enactments are based 
upon erroneous conceptions. I may add that wherever such investigations have 
been systematically conducted they have resulted in a verdict favorable to the birds 
of prey. In almost every portion of the country I have found the opinions of all 
field ornithologists to be in favor of the preservation of the hawk and owl tribe on 
account of the good they do. I believe the time will come when the farmers as a 
class will carefully protect the hawks and owls on the ground of their beneficent ser¬ 
vices. 
“Following is the list of species most numerous in your state : 
“ 1. Marsh Hawk. Circiis hudsonius. 
“ 2. Sparrow Hawk. Falco sparverius. 
“ 3. Red-shouldered Hawk. Buteo lineatus. 
“ 4. Red-tailed Hawk. Buteo borealis. 
“ 5. Cooper’s Hawk. Accipiter cooperi. 
“ 6. Sharp-shinned Hawk. Accipiter velox. 
“ 7. Broad-winged Hawk. Buteo latissimus. 
“ 8. Rough-legged Hawk. Archibuteo lagopus sancti-johannis. 
“ 9. Short-eared Owl. Asio accipitrinus. 
“ 10. Screech Owl. Megascops asio. 
“ 11. Long-eared Owl. Asio wilsonianus. 
“ 12. Barred Owl. Syrnium nebulosum. 
“ 13. Horned Owl. Bubo virginianus. 
“Of this list the Marsh Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Broad¬ 
winged Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Short and Long-eared Owls, Screech Owl, 
Barred Owl and Horned Owl are of very great value to the agriculturist because of 
the immense numbers of meadow mice and other small rodents they annually de¬ 
stroy. The mice, when unchecked, increase with amazing rapidity, and the hawks 
and owls above named are among the chief natural means for their destruction, mice 
and other rodents forming a large percentage of their food. The harm the hawks do 
in the destruction of small birds is inconsiderable compared to the benefits derived 
by the farmers from the destruction of the four-footed pests. The owls particularly 
work by night and hence the benefits they confer are easily overlooked. 
“ The Sparrow Hawk is one of the most harmless of birds and one of the most ben¬ 
eficial to man. He lives almost exclusively upon grasshoppers and crickets, and the 
number of the former destroyed by these birds is incalculable. 
“ I mention the Cooper s and Sharp-shinned Hawks last because they unquestion¬ 
ably kill many small birds, and they also commit depredations upon the poultry 
yard. I believe, however, they can safely be left to be dealt with by the class they in¬ 
jure, chiefly poultrymen. To place all the hawks and owls under ban, and to attempt 
their extermination simply because one or two species are injurious is certainly not 
good policy. 
“ After more than twenty years study of birds I am decidedly of the opinion that 
the hawks and owls as a class are of great economic value, and that no state in which 
agriculture is pursued to any extent can allord to dispense with their services. Thev 
