The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1914-07-28
PIRATE OF THE AIR
"5LUE DARTER" A TERROR TO
CHICKS AND PROTECTORS.
Many Wrongs May Be Laid at tho
Door Of This Innocent Appearing
Blrd-Has Given Race Of
Hawks Bad Reputation.

When the blue darter" darts sew
eral things happen. Most likely pan
demonium will break loose right away,
and the farm will becope the stage
for one Of this most famous charac-
ters most melodrsmatic scenes. In all
the country there is no other one
creature capable OF starting 30 much
oommotion as thie innocent-looking
bird. sometimes called the blue dab
ber," because, as the farm wife ex-
plains. he dabS down from nowhere
and takes the prettiest little white
chick of all the hens brood. In books
this pirate OF the air has the name of
Cooper's hawk, scientifically speaking,
Accipiter Cooper.
The truth of that old farm story
about the woman who turned over
the churn on the cat. which jumped
and scratched the dog, which fright
ened the calf and made 1t run into
the hive Of bees. which all but stung
her husband to death is that the
whole thing was started by this same
innocent looking bird. He had darted.
The chickens did a perfectly natural
thing in setting up disturbance trye
Ing to escape the dart. And next to
the baby's cry. the sound that travels
quickest to the good housewives ear
Is her poultry's s. o. 8.
Several other wrongs are laid at
the feet of Accipiter Cooper besides
the dead chicken and all the attend
ant evils. He has been the cause OF
all the other hawks getting a bad
name. Many big, peaceful, red
tailed hawk has been shot because
of his smaller relatives reputation
for chicken stealing. Now, this big
hawk Is not such a moral fellow that
he will not steal a chicken once in
q while. but he's honest-hearte2, pre-
ferring gophers. mice. sparrows and
insects. So great is his appetite for
different farm pests that a chicken
now and then is only small wages for
his good services.
But there is another hawk which
shares with the blue darter," not only
his evil reputation, but also goes so
far as to deserve II, being confirmed
chicken and bird killer. This is the
sharp Skinned Accipiter velox, which
is about half the size of the other
Accipiter
The case Of the hawks is Just an
other one which goes to show that it
won't do to put all people Of the
same name in the same class. One
Mr.. Hawk may be a chicken thief and
another Mr.. Hawk may be a strenu-
GUS worker for the public welfare, and
that's just the fact about this bird
family In fairness to the hawks it
should be remembered that most of
them are our efficient friends. The
two Accipiters mentioned are the only
outlaws Of the family commonly
known over the United States.
Save your ammunition for the
blue darter~ and his smaller kins-
man. That's the advice of those who
know the hawks. Observation and ex-
animation have shown that all the
members of these two tribes are hope
lessly guilty of the murder Of domes-
tic fowls, game birds. songsters and
other feathered friends.
True it is that both the Accipiters
do kill sparrow now and then. In
this way they seem to think they can
make up for the harm they do. Per-
haps they could If they killed spar
rows enough. But they don't. The
sight Of either of them should be the
signal for every farmer to snatch his
gun and shoot to kill. But he should
be sure It isn't one of his friends.