The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-05-03
HOW BIRDS OF PREY HUNT.
Wonderful Powers of visiOn-Their
 Value to Farmers.

Value to Farmers.
 The eye of the bird of prey is prob ably the most perfect organ of sight that exists, says a writer in The World To-day
 The most marvellous of all is the sight which enables the owl to strike the mouse in the darkness or to pur- sue and capture the bat which we can scarcely see even in the early twilight.
 The talons of some of the larger birds of prey are extremely strong, The feet of the osprey make splendid fish trap, one from which no fish can escape when ouce caught.
 The great curved talons of the eagle are most effective. and are certainly stronger than those of all other birds. When they once close on an object, the clutch is so tight that 1t can scarcely be loosened under the birds leg be severed, The strong claws are not only used for catching food, but are used also in carrying nesting material. If, instead of killing its prey, a spe- cies of bird is accustomed to feed on carrion, this change is clearly reflected in the weaker muscles of the feet and in the shorter and duller claws. Many people have thought that bug zards have an unusual sense of smell | that guides them over miles of terri tory in search of food, but many years ago 1t was proved that sight Is the principal factor in guiding the bird of prey
 Audubon made careful experiments with a black vulture. The dry, stuffed i skin of a deer which he placed out In 1 the field soon attracted a vulture. AL though there was no smell of flesh and nothing eatable about it, the bird lit and began tugglng at the dry skin. Later when the same bird circled over the field 1t espied a small snake not | thicker than a mans finger and poun- ced upon 1t.
 | In another case the decayed carcass of hog was covered with brush so | that 1t was invisible, It remained un- discovered by the vultures that fre- ] quently passed over the place by acci- dent, although the stench was very | strong.
 The sparrow hawk Is perhaps the best known of our birds of prey, as 1t ranges through the entire country Contrary to what the name might signify, this bird lives almost exclu- sively on insects, except where such food is difficult to obtain.
 Upon the treeless plains and hills throughout the west it is a common sight to see these little falcons beating along over the waste, frequently swerv- ing upward in flight and coming to a dead stop, as they hang suspended ir the air with rapid wing beats, looking for prey. In localities where grasshop- pers are abundant these these hawks Twill congregate and gorge themselves continually
 During the winter, about the Sar Francisco Bay region where the Eng fish sparrows are plentiful, the spar. row hawk sometimes comes into tho towns and captures sparrow from e flock. The red-tailed hawk is ofen call. ed chicken hawk, but he does not de. serve the name. Many of the hawks carry undeserved regulations.
 In regions and in seasons when ani nal and insect food Is scarce, thl: hawk will catch chickens and game birds, but 1t lives mostly on mice ant shrews as well as frogs, snakes, lizards and insects of various kinds. In { prairie and hilly country almost It's en tire food is squirrels, gophers, meadow mice and rabbits.
 The osprey is one of our nobles birds of prey. He hunts about over th rivers and lakes, living almost entirel on fish.
 A fish, as seen by one looking dow into the water from above is very de captive owing to the refractory light When fish seems to be a foot unde the surface he is often three or fou feet. But the osprey. lowering over O poised wing, drops like plummet, oft
 en completely disappearing below tn
 surface, and in spite of the rapidit with which fish can move this glr
 is generally successful in capturing i
 In the mountainous regions of tn west one may occasionally see the gold
 eu eagle hunting for his prey Durn the summer of 1904 we made severs visits to the aerie of one of these bi birds and found that a large proportio of the eagles food supply consisted (
 ground squirrels with an occasions rabbit and quail. On one trip we foun
 the bodies of four ground squirrels ly
 ing on the rim of the nest. The hills in many places were perfor ) squirrels, and the eagles seemed t : have regular watch towers on the hig l rocks, from which they swooped dow
 upon their quarry. If it were not fo