54 
THE NATURALIST AND COLLECTOR 
eagle, it preys on many of the destruc¬ 
tive rodents of the West, where it is 
considered a beneficial bird. Unfor¬ 
tunately, it is fond of lambs, pigs and 
poultry, and probably does as much 
damage as the golden eagle, in the 
more thickly inhabited regions. Much 
sensational matter has appeared from 
time to time in various newspapers 
about eagles attacking and carrying 
off children. Few of these stories have 
any foundations in truth, although in 
olden times, when eagles had less fear 
of man, they may have picked up an 
unguarded infant. The pigeon hawk, 
Richardson’s hawk and Aplomado 
falcon are all true falcons. Though 
they feed on the flesh of birds, they 
destroy enough insects and noxious 
mammals to easily offset the dam¬ 
age they do. The prairie falcon in¬ 
habits the dry western plains and 
neighboring mountains, in the cliffs of 
which it builds its nest. It feeds ex¬ 
tensively upon water fowl, quail, 
prairie chickens and other game. 
In olden times, when falconry was a 
fashionable pastime, there were two 
types of hawks, each of which had its 
devotees. One, the true falcon, rep¬ 
resented by the larg'e gryfalcon and 
the peregrine falcon, captured its 
quarry bj^ superior power of flight in 
the open country, while the other, the 
accipitrine hawks represented by the 
goshawk, although strong fliers, suc¬ 
ceeded in capturing less by long flig'hts 
than by short, rapid dashes or by 
skillfully turning upon their unsus¬ 
pecting prey. In the United States 
the injurious hawks belong to these 
two classes and are represented by 
closely allied species. 
The goshawk, Cooper’s hawk and 
sharp-shinned hawk are accipitrines 
This group is probably responsible for 
the unjust hatred and suspicion with 
which our birds of prey, in general, 
are regarded. All three species feed 
largely on the flesh of birds, of which 
game and poultry form a considerable 
part. They capture their prey by 
quick turns and rapid dashes from 
cover, the victim being grasped before 
the hawk’s presence is really suspected. 
The goshawk is a large and powerful 
bird, easily killing and carrying off a 
full-grown fowl. Many are the stories 
told of its audacity in attacking poul¬ 
try, taking it almost from under the 
very feet.of the owner, and even enter¬ 
ing inhabited houses in pursuit of the 
intended victim. It has been known 
to attack a man. 
Cooper’s hawk, is pre-eminentlv a 
“chicken hawk,” and is by far the 
most destructive species, mainly be¬ 
cause it is more numerous than the 
goshawk; It is especially fond of do¬ 
mesticated pig'eons. Some of these 
hawks have learned that safe and 
easy foraging is to be found in large 
cities where the use of firearms is pro¬ 
hibited. In winter they congregate 
among the evergreens of the parks or 
in the shrubbery in the suburbs, sally¬ 
ing forth upon unsuspecting doves and 
English sparrows. The sharp shinned 
hawk, an almost perfect miniature of 
Cooper’s hawk, is equally destructive 
to bird life. It is very partial to young 
poultry. During recenlj; winters it has 
increased about large cities of the East 
doubtless because it finds sparrows 
numerous and easy to procure. 
One of the most valuable of birds 
from the economic point of view, is the 
barn owl, a Southern species. Its food 
is made up almost entirely of mam¬ 
mals, with now and then a few insects 
and occasionly a bird. Among the for¬ 
mer are several species of rodents 
which are a curse to the country they 
inhabit—notably the pouched gophers 
