Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-11
FIERCE FEATHERED HUNTERS
Hawks That Find Their Quarry Among the
Swiftest Flyers.
They Are Now Haunting the Accus-
toned Courses of Their
Migratory Prey.

From the Chicago Chronicle.
1t is bird life which more truly than any
other exists In the shadow of death" The
time honored expression is not used hgura-
lively alone in the case of the bird, for it is
literally often Swallowed by death in the
form Of the predatory hawk. Many MEM
bers of the hawk family pass to the far
| north to breed There they tarry and hunt
delaying their southern journeyings until
the great tide of migration of the other
birds sets IN toward the southland.
In this season the hardy native
sparrows the open-water fowl and the
birds of the swamp stretches are making
their way toward their warm winter re-
scrts The migrations of the birds for some
reason unknown TO the scientists, take the
form of lines. The feathered creatures will
pass by the thousands on straight north
and south line not more than a mile wide.
Then there will be stretch of country
miles in extent where but few birds are to
be seen, although the food prospects are as
promising as in the grass and water stretch
es along which the birds are passing in
such immense fockS.
At this season of the year any one who
wishes to witness some of the dark TRACE
dies of bird life need do nothing more than
seek out one of these migration lines and
there with an opera glass follow the evo-
buttons of some big bird of prey which Is
always certain 10 De present WllHlU llle
field of vision.
Take, for instance, a stretch of the Illi
nois or the Kankakee river; follow the bank
for mile and there will be witnessed al
most certainly happening in falconry
which will render tame the reading of some
of the old-tilne stories of this sport of
kings" In European falconry the quarry
was usually heron. Along the Illinois
river the prey will be a swift-winged widg-
con or an arrowy-f iighted teal
The huntsman is the peregrine falcon who
loves duck meat above all other food. This
hawk gets it's name from its travelling pro-
civities. 1t is found in all parts of the
world, in small numbers, however, and the
bird of Asia differs little from the one of
Illinois This falcon strikes the duck when
in full flight with its talons extended and
it's feet thrust forward. The chase is cruel
y interesting The duck attempts to zig
gag, but the extreme rapidity of its course
renders this difficult. The hawk with strong
wing beats comes nearer and nearer. There
is a half-whstle, haif-scream Of triumph,
and the talons sink deep into the back of
the quarry. which is borne to the nearest
point of land, there TO be torn to fragments
by the powerful beak of the enemy,
The hunting habits of the marsh hawk do
not present as thrilling a spectacle do
those of the peregrine falcon, but its
method of beating up its prey is pictur-
eSQue to a degree. The marsh hawk has
impartial taste A jack snipe a field mouse
or a Virginia rail are alike pleasant to his
palate. The bird seeks out a stretch of
country where in different places any one
Of these little Crea lures may be found. The
hawk flies leisureIy over the tops of the
tan dried grass and reeds in the rails re-
treats, hoping that the mere knowledge of
his presence will cause the starting into
flight of one of the bird innocents. The
marsh hawk can give lessons in the start
ing up of game to any of the pheasant
hunters of Great Britain, and when the
quarry is once started the hawk, unlike
some British sportsmen, never misses its
aim. The marsh hawk hunting over a
stretch Of gray waste land adds life and
beauty to the scene. 1t kills enough harm
full mice to pay for the game it kills. but
its race is passing away because of the
wantonness of hunters, who grudge the
marsh hawk its dinner, though there may
fall to the guns dinners for a score.
The pigeon hawk, a common hawk in the
vicinity of Chicago, is so called because its
flight and form resemble that of the pigeon,
and not because it is particularly fond of
pigeons as a food. The bird is no larger
than the ordinary tame pigeon. and yet
when it does pick out of these birds
as a delectabe bit it strikes it down with
ease and has been known to carry the
quarry some distance. A Rogers Park car
rler pigeon fancier was watching for the re-
turn of one of his birds from long flight.
1t came in sight apparently with another
bird behind 1t. The bird in the rear proved
to be pigeon hawk and 1t struck down
the homing pigeon at the very doorstep of
it's owner. One of these small hawks en-
tered the pigeon loft of a Highland Park
fancter and there wantonly killed three or
four birds, contenting itself with eating
one. A number of heavy bodied birds from
DR.. F. NJ. Ingalls, Highland Park cote went
foraging recently in a field at some dis
lance A pigeon hawk appeared over the
scene of the feeding and all the birds rose
wildly. The hawk dashed into the middle of
the flock and struck down two, one to the
right and one to the left. more quickly
than it takes to tell the story.
The small birds have their foes as well
as have the larger ones. The sparrow hawk
picks up sparrows, larks warblers and
finches. The coopers hawk dearly loves a
quail dinner, and others of the taloned tribe
help to bring terror and more than occa-
sionai death into the songsters ranks.