Hee eA Use BS OUNS eB Lil HT ston 15 
1951 Field Trip to Springfield 
THE ANNUAL FIELD TRIP of the Illinois Audubon Society will be held at 
Springfield, Illinois, on Saturday and Sunday, November 10 and 11. The 
Springfield Nature League, under the presidency of Mr. Gilbert Wright, 
will act as hosts. All members of the Society, particularly those from down- . 
state, are urged to attend. 
Mr. Paul E. Downing is chairman of the committee arranging details 
of the trip. For those who are not Springfield residents, a visit to the IIli- 
nois State Museum will be especially appealing. Tentative plans call for a 
dinner meeting in or near Springfield on Saturday evening, to be followed 
by one or more talks from well-known authorities in the wildlife field. 
On Sunday morning there will be a field trip to the Illinois river to ob- 
serve the wildfowl migration, which should be at its height about that 
week-end. For those who have never seen skeins of flying ducks sweeping in 
tattered threads across the autumn sky, or vees of Canada geese beating 
overhead, their sharp cries ringing in the fresh morning air, this trip will 
be an experience that should not be missed. 
Full details of the outing will be sent to all members in about one 
month. Make a mental reservation of the date now — November 10 and 
11, in Springfield, Illinois! 
va fi fl 
Ravens Kill a Red-tailed Hawk 
By BELLE WILSON 
ABOUT THREE P.M. on February 15, 1951, I was driving on a recently opened 
road, south of the foot-hills within the western limits of Banning, Cali- 
fornia. A grain field lay between me and the hills. As I had previously seen 
hawks in the vicinity, I scanned the sky with care, and, sure enough, 
a hawk was sailing high above the hills. 
After hastily parking my car at the side of the road, I turned my 8- 
power binoculars on the bird. It was a handsome red-tailed hawk, but it 
was in trouble. As I watched, it dropped almost to the top of the hills. 
Two ravens were following closely. The red-tail now sprung up, now down 
in long swift glides, while the ravens again and again came dashing down 
upon it. Presently the ravens were below the hawk, but almost instantly 
they were above again. And from their vantage point, they, in turn, with 
great speed dropped through the air, dashed at the hawk’s head and struck 
with their beaks. The hawk swerved to the right —to the left, but could 
not elude the vicious blows of the ravens. In no time, it seemed, the hawk 
weakened and dropped almost to the ground, followed closely by the two 
hammering beaks. 
Soon the bird was really down, falling on its side so that its lighter 
under parts showed clearly. For an instant the one free wing waved 
weakly; then all motion ceased. In the following few moments of quiet, 
the hawk gained a little strength, for it attempted to take off. It failed. 
After a few strokes it fell into a nearby shallow wash, out of sight. 
