Evening star., 1946-06-26
This and That
Bu Charles Z. Tr1ceneU
THIRTEENTH PLACE.
Dear Sir.

Dear Sir:
Il was lying face upward on the
ground near picnic ground 28A in Rock
Creek Park last Sunday when large bird
which looked to me like hawk alighted
on a nearby branch about 40 feet above
me. The bird flew off almost as soon
as it landed on the branch but as it
did so, rather large white and red
object flashed through the sunlight and
landed rather heavily on the ground.
MY curiosity aroused walked over
to examine the object. I was astonished
and somewhat Mortified to find that it
was the carcass of bird the size of
small chicken with the head and neck
and the tail gone and practically all
the feathers plucked off. 1t had ap-
parently been just recently killed as it
was still smeared with fresh blood. The
only clue I can give to the kind of bird
it was is that the toes on its feet were
ringed with delicate narrow pink and
white circles
Il am rather mystified by two circum-
stances First. why should a hawk Gf
that is what it Was want to eat, or eat
first, the bony neck and head of its
prey, while leaving the meatier parts
count for the clean removal of the tail
and body feathers?
Your explanation would be greatly
appreciated. Sincerely, V. r."
When hawk seizes a bird, the first
thing he does is to tear off its head.
He does this by instinct, to keep from
getting pecked, and to assure himself
that the prey will no longer worry him.
Perhaps-who knows-he has some
sense of shame, maybe back in obscure
corpuscles of his being Who can say
that every cell does not think, and who
would be SO bold as to believe that the
criminal, at the very time of his deed,
has no shame in his fell accomplish
ment?
The hawk usually plunges his terrible
beak straight into the heart of the
seized bird, after which he tears off
the head, removing the neck with it.
If possible, he strikes the heart with
i. talon.
Then he pulls out all the body
feathers, tail and wings, to get at the
meat Bird feathers take on almost the
appearance of porcupine stickers, in
such a situation.
A hawk usually makes the kill a few
feet from where he makes the seizure,
then flies away with the bird to eat at
leisure.
In this case the victim probably was
pigeon, or maybe turtle dove. Both
are favorites of the larger hawks.
The more feathers they have on them,
the more difficult they are to carry, not
only because the feathers actively in
terfere with the hawks motions, but
also because they offer pressure to the
air, making it harder for the hawk to
fly.
When first taking off with such prey
the hawk has to have plenty of room
to spread his wings, which even on the
smallest hawks are at least SO inches,
and in the larger ones several times
as much.
That is why hawk usually will drop
his prey if a householder gets after
him, especially if he is near a fence,
shrub or vine against which his wings
might strike in the take-off.
One way of catching hawk is to put
a bait inside an enclosure of tall chicken
wire not more than feet in diameter.
1t is easy for the hawk to get in,
because he closes his wings as he drops
down, but when he tries to go out his
wings strike the sides, and often he
can be captured before he can make
his getaway.
Most hawks are beneficial to man,
playing part in natures plan, but the
following are to be condemned Duck
hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper's
hawk, goshawk and the gyrfalcons.
American hawks make special study,
and no one ought to shoot them in
discriminately unless he has studied
them and knows what he is doing.