The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-02-16
HAWKS AND THEIR PREY.
A short Talk About These Fierce But
Graceful Birds.
From the Phlladelphla Times


Back in the middle ages, before the dis
covery of gunpowder, hunting with the aid
of the falcon was as common as it now Is
with guns and dogs. The bird-fanciers
Of those days named a certain group of
hawks the noble falcons" These COM
prised the lohg4winged hawks, which take
their quarry While II Is in motion, never
approaching 1t stealthily, but always MAX
ing their presence known by flying aloft
while watching for q chance to sweep
downward upon the prey.
To the Naturalist there are few sights of
more absorbing interest than to watch one
of these noble falcons while pursuing a
chosen victim. Yet it Is anything but an
easy task " Keep an eye upon it, in case
II extends its search for a meal over a
large extent Of country. If, however, the
falcon is hunting through an open valley,
me naturalist, mounted on a tall tree or
building. has favorable opportunity to
watch 1t, especially If aided by power
tai field glass Every motion of the bird
may thus &c seen TO advantage, except,
perhaps, it's sudden downward dash when
rs quarry is discovered.
The smallest of our winged fauna, the
tiny ''dicky-birds,' as our English friends
call them, the sparroWs, wrens and tiny
fly catchers, dread the handsome and ac-
tive sparrow hawk as their most inVeter-
ate foe. Almost thrush-like in size color
and easy fight-when not in hurry-this
smallest of the noble falcons Is not easily
detected until seen at close quarters, but
he Is almost as sure of his victim as are
The pigeon-hawk, a size larger than the
sparrow hawk, is equally swift, ferocious
and death-dealing. Still more dreaded
perhaps by the smaller birds is the sharp
Skinned hawk. Its larger cousin, the
coopers hawk, is an active hunter of more
Slzeable prey, such as the wild and tame
pigeons, half-grown harnyard fowls, doves,
quail and grouse
There is really little chance to escape
from the onset of these two formidable
hunters. Like a swft-winged fate, they
seldom come but TO kill, and the anxious
mother-bird knows not which of her flock
will be taken. These hawks, when not
posing aloft, fly silently through the
woods, or low over the open fields and
thiekets, and their presence is seldom sus-
pected until they are right upon their
prey. Then comes a swift stroke,
clutch of the long, keen talons, and the
bullet.
AS the undisputed leader of the noble
falcons, the very prince of these robber
barons of the air we may flame the pereg-
ri l "a falcon better known IN our country
sights flock, or a single bird, flying 80
high as to preclude Its possible return to
the ground, before he can reach it. He
then actually flies downward adding the
tremendous impetus of his wings to the
force of gravity, and thus attaining
speed, that the eye can barely follow.
As he nears the earth he sets his wings
and, without checking his speed alters
by a short curve the direction of his flight
from the vertical to the horizontal Thus
speed that the observer compares with
that of cannon-bali, he overtakes the i'll
fated duck-itself one of the swiftest Of
hiers-and, with one stroke of it's terrible
talons, deals the paralyzing blow.
II the duck falls in the water, the hawk
unless unusually hungry, seldom cares to
regain it: if on land, ne descends to the
repast, feeding only on certain choice
morsels, and leaving the rest to a less fas-
tidfous appetite. Indeed, most of the fall
cons eat only certain portions of their
prey, and, as a rule, these are by no
means such as human epicures regard as
the choicest tid-bts.
In regard to the food of the noble fall
cons, the Department of Agriculture at
washington, through the labors of the OBJ
servers attached to the division of ornith-
ology and mammalogy, has made some in
teresting reports. Among the contents of
fanlcons stomachs have been found the re-
mains OF quail, snfpe, woodcock, grouse,
ducks, various finches, and eVen-though
in rare instances-swallows and swifts
with now and then king birds and purple
That these two last mentioned known
as EXCEPTIONALLY swift fiiers and inveterate
! hawk-hghters should fall the victims of
| hawks, may be accounted for only in one
of two ways; they were either surprised
while at rest, by the sudden dash of the
falcon, or they We're taken when young.
before they had attained full power of
flight. No hawk or eagle, however swift
OF wing, could overtake in full flight such
darters as the swallow, the chimney swift,
or the king bird.
The hawks proper, forming a different
group from the falcons, are for the most
part shorter-w winged. and therefore slower
and more clumsy These include the red
tail. the broad winged, the red shouldered
Swainsons hawk and others. They are
seldom quick enough to capture birds or
even mice, and must content themselves
mainly with snakes, toads and the less
active of the lizards, together with the
larger insects and spiders. Two of this
group may be named as exceptions to this
remark-the goshawk and the marsh
hawk The last is an especially active
bird, as it must be to capture its prey,
which consists chiefly Of field mice, plover,
snipe and even, at times, the wild duck.
S. Frank Aaron.