Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-10-09
hawk (Fslco Columbsrius) after q
white-throsted. sparrow.

Wntec-turoattu sparrow.
"a pigsoA hawk in pursuit of g
white throat passed over the road
just in front of the horse we were
driving. We stopped the horse in
stsntly. The sparrow was leading
its pursuer about yard. Neither
bird uttered 8 sound. 1t was the
silence of death, aud verify the white
throat seemed to be passing through
the valley Of the shadow.
"In full fight they swept on for
about thirty yards. Then the spar
row doubled like hare. 1t passed
down under the hawk as though it
had turned q somersault and actually
seemed to fly for a moment breast
upward. The pursued used his
wings and tail as brakes and doubled
with the white throst, but it lost
about two yards distance. Itgained
radidly, however, and by the time
the middle of the road was reached
on the return journey the sparrow
was leading by narrow margin.
"In some manner the little fellow
managed to elude the hawks tslous
extended ready to strike, and to get
into the bush-grown field on the
right Of the road. There it doubled
again, but the hawk prepared for
the manoeuvre, lost little distance
in bringing mp sharply and making
the turn to follow in the white
throat's wake. Hunter and hunted
reached the field at the left once
more. and there, as if by inspiration,
the sparrow shot head downward in
to tangled thicket of weeds and
brisrs. There it was safe and the
hawk knew It."
During the chase the hawk paid
no attention to the human observers,
removed only few feet from the
path Of it's pursuit. Had il been q
Cooper hawk that had taken up the
chase the white throat would never
again have sung its sweet spring song.
Of the hawks which commonly
suffer at mans hands for the sins of
the relatives, the best known are the
red.shouldered, the red tailed and the
broad-winged hawks. They are con-
spicuous objects as they sail about
far up against the blue of the sky,
and it is this very conspicuousness
that is responsible for their persecu-
ton. The william accipters hide.
while the comparatively harmless
buteos sail into plain view snd bear
the burden of the farmers wrath.
The officials of the biological sur
vey are hard ct work trying to de-
wise means to abate the plague Of
prairie dogs, which have increased
greatly in numbers recently. The
red-tailed and his brother hawks
dearly love prairie dogs. The farmer
and the ranchman killed the hawks,
thinking that by 30 doing they were
saving their chickens The prairie
dogs began to multiply in the ab-
sence of the hawks, and man found
out once more that he should not
try to interfere with the nice adjust
ment of natures economy.
The three hawks named are as
timid in many ways as their cousins
accipter are bold. As q matter OF
fact, these hawks are cowardly. Pos
sessed of weapons with which they
can kill an ordinary antagonist, they
will flee screaming before the attack
LOT 9 purple martin, king bird, q
ljay or Q crow.
| NOT Ioug since i saw huge red
tailed hawk sitting on a fencepost q,
the corner of q field. A crow was
perched in . tree overhead. Sud.
denly corvus shot down and gave the
red-tail a thump with his wing and
q stroke with his bill. The hawl
took the aifront with unbecvmins
meekness. Had it particle Of
spunk it could have killed the crow
but the coward's heart was under it,
feathers.
! Time after time the crow returned
to the attack. while the red-tailet
made no attempt at retaliation, con
tenting itself with clumsily shifting
its position occasionally, to enabl,
it to "turn the other cheek"
finally put both birds to fight bu
the hawk was none the gamer there