Evening star., 1944-03-21
This and That
By Charles E. TrdceDeH.
"FRANKLIN STREET NE

Il
Dear Sir:
II am bird student and a faithful
reader of your column. have feeding
tray and enjoy the birds very much.
Being boy have lot OF time to do so.
"One of the most interesting birds
around my home is the sparrow hawk.
There have been two of them in the
neighborhood since September, and so
far have not seen them bothering the
birds on the feedery.
Are sparrow hawks able to over
power starlings? i have seen them
both in the same tree with flock of
starlings, and they didn't seem to
bother them.
I'm the summer grasshoppers are their
chief food and judging by this fact I
wouldn't think they are able to attack
a very large prey.
Sincerely, j. T."
English sparrows and starlings are
the two food aims of sparrow hawks in
the bird line.
The joke is that these beautiful small
hawks do not kill many birds, despite
their name.
q
Startling or sparrow.
Only occasionally will it harm any
other species.
Our correspondents observations show
how seldom it attacks starlings. Only
real hunger will lead it to do so, for the
startling is large and powerful, with
tremendous strength in its neck. It's
large bill is strong and with the aid of
the y1ark ic Oh tn
tremendous blow.
could Outright a sparrow hawk It
lacks, of course, the two strong talons
of the small hawk.
the brands of "zippers" is called talon"
after the famous hold of hawks.
These "zippers," it always has seemed
to us, are among the most marvellous
of inventions. In carrying a brief case
able to get kick" out of watching it
work, and noting how completely it
shuts the case.
Not being of mechanical or mathe-
matical turn of mind, we have never
been able to understand to our own
satisfaction just how these zippers
work"
The closing is so complete, with not a
bit of crack showing, that it is i'm
possible to see where the rest of the
ripper" goes when it shuts This is on
par with the famous problem of where
does the moon go when it "sets." ct
Is still there)
The little sparrow hawk is a true
hawk, but without the bloodthirsty in
tentions of such bad ones as the sharp
Skinned hawk and Coopers hawk
1t has been known to kill quail and
blue jays, but in the main it confines
itself to mice, grasshoppers, and even
caterpillars.
DR.. A. K. Fisher, the great authority
on such matters, writes: AT times it
attacks small birds and young chickens,
but these irregularities are SO infre-
quent that they are more than out
weighed by its good services in destroy
ing insects and mice. GrasshopperS,
crickets and other insects form its
principal food during the warm months,
while mice predominant during the rest
OF the year. Terrestrial caterpihars,
beetles and spiders also are eaten to a
considerable extent. AS might be ex-
peCteu, large pTOpOrLlOn Oh tne DlTQS
captured are taken during the nesting
season, the hawks then having less time
to procure their favorite food 1t is at
| this time also that they commit depre-
dations in poultry yards. During late
| fall and winter meadow mice and house
| mice form a large part of their food,
| the former being taken in fields and
| meadows and the latter around corn
| stalks and about barns and outbuild-
| ings"
One may watch these little hawks for
many months without seeing them at
tack bird. Our first introduction to it,
however, was when one flew into the
yard one fall day and captured an
English sparrow. The hawk got en-
tangled in the rose vine where it had
seized the bird, but managed to get
through into the next yard. BY the
time we got out, 1t had held the bird
down with its powerful talons and torn
out all the breast feathers with its
beak. 1t then few away holding its
prey.