Ms eee eA BON Be Uebel Est: N 7 
Of 418 stomachs examined, 10 contained poultry or game birds; 176, 
other birds; 259, mice; 27, other vertebrates; 11, insects; 8 were empty. 
Well, does this not prove they are destructive? No, for the good 
they do in killing the dreadfully prolific rodents overbalances the harm 
they may do otherwise. Some of the game birds may have been sick 
or crippled. Then there is the esthetic side. Is it not worth some- 
thing to see the graceful flight of this form of wild life? Why sub- 
tract this beauty from outdoor life? 
Now come the buteos or buzzards. (The turkey vulture should 
not be so named; the buzzards are true hawks, not vultures.) . They 
are large, broad-winged, short-tailed hawks, of a heavy build. They 
are the birds called “chicken-hawks” and everyone’s hand is against 
them. They are shot on sight—-and everytime this happens, the farmer 
loses a friend, an ally. Why? Because their main food is rodents, 
especially the thirteen-lined ground squirrel, wrongly called “gopher.” 
Where the real gopher is found, that, too, is its chief dish. After 
insects, rodents are the greatest menace to the farmer and therefore 
to us all. If their rapid multiplication is not checked, our food crops 
will be destroyed. 
The best-known buteo is the red-tailed hawk. It is a large, slow- 
flying raptor. When flying, the widely spread tail enables one to see 
the reddish-brown color of the upper side. Immature birds, though 
as large as the adults, have a dusky tail with darker bands crossing 
it. They describe circles and spirals in the air for hours, on motion- 
less wings. This glorious sight should be enough to stay the ruthless 
trigger-finger. Here is their food record: Of 1,013 stomachs, 112 
contained poultry or game birds; 85, other birds; 857, mice and 
gophers; 118, other vertebrates; 92, insects, etc. Again one may 
ask, ‘Is not 112 chickens a lot?” I say, no; not for 1,013 red-tails. 
Rather figure thus: If a pair of red-tails in a farmer’s wood-lot take 
$5.00 worth of chickens but benefit crops $25.00 worth by killing 
rodents, he is still $20.00 to the good. 
The red-shouldered hawk, smaller than the red-tailed, is built 
and flies the same way. It has a black tail, crossed by several white 
bands in the adults; in the immatures by dusky ones. Though altogether 
useful, it is shot down as a “chicken hawk.” Here is its record: Of 444 
stomachs, 7 contained poultry; 25, other birds; 287, mice and other 
mammals; 127, other vertebrates (they seem to be fond of snakes) ; 
92, insects, etc. 
Another buteo is the still smaller broad-winged hawk. It never 
touches chickens, but lives chiefly on mice and large insects. It is 
the least suspicious of hawks, allowing close approach. Because of 
this and the mania for killing it has become very rare. 
In the West is found the massive, muscular Swainson’s hawk, 
and in the Northwest and in Canada the equally husky rough-legged 
hawk. Both are as large as the red-tail or larger. Nevertheless, they 
do not touch chickens, but are valuable to the farmer, killing untold 
numbers of rodents. Since they are large and an easy target and 
also are called ‘chicken hawks,” they are shot mercilessly. Some 
