The Nome daily nugget., 1935-02-23

surface of the earth or currents generated by winds. These birds | frequently soar for hours with scarcely a wing beat, turning and wheeling in the sky, often at such attitudes that they appear as mere specks against the blue.
 The turkey vulture Is we'll known species that is particularly adept in this art. In fact, 1t finds this method of progression so adapted to it's needs that frequently | it remains in it's roost through the day when the air Is heavy and still.
 The falcons have longer, more pointed wings that enable them to fly with great speed, and, though they may enjoy soaring, they do not practice this so constantly as the other hawks. The larger species can capture the swiftest flying sand pipers and ducks on the wing with out the slightest difficulty.
 The food of birds of the hawk group is highly varied, though it Is taken entirely from the animal kingdom. The larger species of | falcons subsist mainly on various | kinds of birds and small mammals, but the smaller kind, such as spar | row hawks and falconets, eat liz zards, grasshoppers and other in- sects, and mice. The bearded vul- lures of the Old world are said to carry turtles and large bones | from the carcasses of dead animals to great height, in order to drop l them on rocks, where they break open so that the bird can eat the marrow.
 Some species of hawks, particu- larly certain forms that range In the tropics, eat snakes as their principal food. There Is one group of species found in India and ad- | jacent regions in which this habit is so constant that the birds are known as serpent eagles" The osprey and some of the sea eagles confine their attention mainly to fish, which they capture alive by plunging after them as they ap- proach the surface of the water. The powerful harpy eagle feeds reg | ularly on monkeys.
 The golden eagle, one of the most | powerful of American birds of prey, has a varied menu. Where prairie | dogs are present in large numbers, these are favored food; pair of eagles will destroy several hundred In the course of season. At times they turn to sharp-tailed grouse when these are abundant, proving | scourge to the flocks. Jack rab- | bits, cottontails, marmots, and ground squirrels are killed in large numbers.
 They also attack lambs and i lawns on occasion, and one observ- CT records that three golden eagles working together pulled down and killed a prong horn antelope during severe winter weather when other food was scarce. They will kill i and eat coyotes caught in traps, and will also steal the bait when wolf traps are baited with meat. Snakes and wild ducks, and an occasional goose, also may figure In their diet.
 Hawk Tribe AIways Hunted.
 The hand of civilized man has been raised universally against the hawk tribe, and birds of this group are shot or otherwise destroyed at every opportunity. It Is rare, in- deed, for hawks to come within gun range of hunter without receiving charge of shot, and they are killed in many localities by setting steel traps on the tops of posts or poles that the birds utilize as perches.
 The majestic bald eagle, our na- tional bird, has fallen under the displeasure of some farmers and has been rather relentlessly hunted.
 Bird lovers have taken up the fight on behalf of this great bird of freedom, declaring that he has been misrepresented and that his occa- sional thefts of poultry are more than offset by services in keeping our beaches clear of dead fish.
 The flight and appearance of hawks and other birds, and certain of their anatomical features, were used by the augurs of ancient Rome in their prophecies of the future. A more practical use of these birds was found among the North Ameri- can Indians, particularly of the Plains and Pueblo groups, when beautiful headdresses were made from the large feathers of the golden eagle, and other ornaments and decora- tions were fashioned from the smaller feathers of this bird and from the feathers of hawks.