Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-10-09
HAWKS SERVBFARMER WE'LL
Kill CrOp-Eating Rodents and
Prairie Dogs.

MAN nanu Is raised constantly
against the hawk. The hawks sp-
proach to farmyard is the signal
for the taking down of the shotgun.
Man is slow to learn, aud nine times
out of ten the hawk killing husband
man Stays one OF his best friends.
Out of seventy-three species and
sub-species of hawks occurring in
America, only six are injurious, and
yet in the popular mind every hawk
that shows on the horizon is q "hen-
hawk" and deserving of death. OF
the half-dozen injurious species only
three are common. They are the
goshawk, the Cooper hawk and the
sharp Skinned hawk.
These birds are the bold buccaneers
of the field. Their flight is of an
arrows swiftness. They will turn
and double, stop short, thread the in
terlacing branches of trees, and seize
the quarry, which they have started,
with unerring precision.
The sharp shlnned and the Cooper
hawk will harry poultry yard and
kill half the chickens within the in
closure, and do it unseen. In the
meantime some red-tailed or red
shouldered hawk will come into sight
on soaring wing or the outlook for
crop-eating rodents. and down comes
the shotgun. There is a report fol-
lowed by chuckle, as the farmer
holds up 8 stricken hawk and de-
clares his lost fowls avenged. Some
where st the woods edge sits the
real marauder, finishing his latest
meal of spring chicken and planning
new forays. The next day and the
next more poultry is stolen, while
the owner wonders.
1t took q long time and much
patient research on the part Of Uncle
Sans officials Of the biological sur
vey to separate the hawks into the
classes of injurious and non-injurious
species. The birds were killed by
the hundreds, and the contents of
their stomachs were examined. Nine
nesting Cooper hawks were found
to have been fed within few hours,
a nuthatch, q flicker, q brown
thrasher-all birds beneficisl to man
"a ruffed grouse. aud young
chicken. Digestion with the birds il
a rapid process, and the destruction
wrought among song, game and do
mestic birds by a single pair of either
species Of "acoipiter" with young to
feed may be estimated with this one
instance of nesting feeding as a basis
A young Cooper hawk was taken
from nest by H. Justin Roddy. II
ate its own weight in food every day.
When just able to fly it escaped from
its cage and before it had gone two
hundred yards it struck down and
killed domestic pigeon in full fight
The sharp-shinned hawk when
hungry will abandon his habi. OF
stealthy approach from behind :
cover of trees and will attack in the
open, even though 1.-THE human enemy
be in plain view and armed. One OF
these birds recently came into tn,
city and struck down q valuable car,
rier pigeon, which was within few
yards of its home cote after q fiigh
of three hundred miles. Scores G.
persons were awaiting the return o.
the pigeon and some of its fellows
but with bold disregard of thei
lpresence the pirate "sharp shin
came like bullet and struck its prey
While riding on an electric car il
the very heart of the city one day .
noon saw Cooper hawk descent
into a flock of English sparrow
feeding in the street. The car wa
moving 80 rapidly that it was impos
sible to tell whether the hawk secures
the dinner that he deserved for hi
boldness.
The accipters rarely miss their in
tended victim. / have seen othe
species try and try again only to b