Among the birds that are most useful to man may be classed the Hawks.
They, with the vultures, the eagles and the owls, belong to the bird
order Raptores, or birds of prey. Unlike the vultures the Hawks feed
upon living prey while the former seek the dead or dying animal. The
vultures are often called “Nature’s Scavengers,” and in many localities
they have been so carefully protected that they will frequent the
streets of towns, seeking food in the gutters.
The family Falconidae, which includes the Hawks, the falcons, the
vultures, the kites, and the eagles—all diurnal birds of prey—numbers
about three hundred and fifty species, of which between forty and fifty
are found in North America. The remainder are distributed throughout the
world.
The flight of the Hawks is more than beautiful, it is majestic. Even
when perched high in the air on the top of a dead monarch of the forest,
there is a silent dignity in their pose. It is from these perches that
some of the species watch the surrounding country for their prey,
swooping down upon it when observed and seizing it in their long, sharp
and curved claws. Their food is almost invariably captured while on the
wing. The bill, which is short, hooked and with sinuate cutting edges,
is used for tearing the flesh of its victim into shreds.
Among our more common hawks there are but five or six that may
truthfully be classed among the birds that are injurious to the
interests of man. Among these, the Cooper’s hawk and the sharp-shinned
hawk deserve the most attention, as they feed almost entirely upon other
birds and poultry. To these two the name chicken hawk may be aptly
applied. The domestic pigeon is a dainty morsel for these ravagers of
the barnyard. On the other hand, by far the larger number of the Hawks
are of great value to man. They are gluttonous whenever the food supply
is unlimited, and, as their powers of digestion are wonderfully
developed, it takes but a short time for the food to be absorbed and
they are then ready for more. With their keen eyesight they readily
detect the rodents and other small mammals that are so destructive to
crops and with a remarkable swiftness of flight they pounce upon them.
Dr. Fisher says, “Of the rapacious birds with which our country is so
well furnished, there are but few which deserve to be put on the black
list and pursued without mercy. The greater number either pass their
whole lives in the constant performance of acts of direct benefit to man
or else more than make good the harm they do in the destruction of
insectivorous birds and poultry by destroying a much greater number of
mammals well known to be hostile to the farmer.”
Dr. Fisher obtained the following results from the examination of the
stomachs of two thousand, two hundred and twelve birds of prey. This
number does not include any of those that feed extensively upon game and
poultry. In three and one-half per centum the remains of poultry or game
birds were found; eleven per centum contained remains of other birds;
forty-two and one-half per centum contained the remains of mice; in
fourteen per centum other mammals were found and twenty-seven per centum
contained insect remains. This summary includes not only the Hawks but
also the owls, eagles and related birds. It is evident from these
results that man has a friend in these birds that is of inestimable
value to him.
[Illustration: ]
The use of falcons and Hawks in the chase dates far back in the history
of the Old World. For ages it was one of the principal sports of mankind
and especially of the nobility. Hawks may be trained to a high degree of
efficiency in the capturing of other birds. It is said that the Chinese
knew of this characteristic of the Hawks at least two thousand years
before the time of Christ. In Japan the art of falconry was practiced
about six or seven hundred years before Christ.
The art is also believed to be represented in a bas-relief found in the
Khorsahad ruins in which a falconer is apparently bearing a hawk on his
wrist. Thus these ancient ruins of Nineveh show that the art must have
been known at least seventeen hundred years before Christ.
That falconry was known to the ancient races of Africa is highly
probable, though there is but little in the earlier written history of
that continent regarding it. Egyptian carvings and drawings, however,
indicate without a doubt that the art was there known centuries ago.
Falconry is still practiced to some extent in Africa.
The art, though not obsolete in those countries of Europe where, in the
middle ages, it was regarded as the greatest and most noble of all
sports, is not national in its character. During the reign of William
the Conqueror laws were enacted in England which were most stringent
regarding falconry. At one time “falcons and hawks were allotted to
degrees and orders of men according to rank and station, to royalty the
jerfalcon, to an earl the peregrine, to a yeoman the goshawk, to a
priest the sparrow-hawk, and to a knave or servant the useless kestrel.”
To train a hawk for this sport requires great skill and patience. The
temper, disposition and, in fact, every peculiarity of each individual
bird must be carefully studied. In these respects it may be said that no
two birds are exactly alike. Technically the name falcon, as used by the
falconer, is applied only to the female of the various species used in
the conducting of this sport.
The peregrine falcon or hawk is usually accepted as the type falcon of
falconry. The name peregrine, from the Latin peregrinus, means
wandering, and refers to the fact that this species is almost
cosmopolitan, though the geographical races are given varietal names.
The duck hawk (Falco peregrinus anatum) is one of the representatives in
America. “The food of this hawk consists almost exclusively of birds, of
which water-fowl and shore birds form the greater part.”
The Hawks of our illustration are natives of North America ranging from
Mexico northward. The American Rough-legged Hawk (Archibuteo lagopus
sancti-johannis) is a geographical variety of a rough-legged form that
is found in northern Europe and Asia. It is also known by the names of
Black Rough-legged and Black Hawk.
This Hawk is one of the largest and most attractive of all the species
of North America. Dr. Fisher tells us that “it is mild and gentle in
disposition, and even when adult may be tamed in the course of a few
days so that it will take food from the hand and allow its head and back
to be stroked. When caged with other species of hawks, it does not as a
rule fight for the food, but waits until the others have finished,
before it begins to eat.”
In spite of its large size and apparent strength it does not exhibit the
spirit that is so characteristic of the falcons. It preys almost
entirely on field mice and other rodents, frogs and probably, at times
and in certain localities, upon insects especially the grasshoppers. It
is said that they will feed upon lizards, snakes and toads. They do not
molest the poultry of the farmer or the game birds of the field, forest
or of our water courses, at least not to any extent. Their size and
their slow and heavy flight would nearly always give sufficient warning
to permit the ordinary fowls to seek cover.
No better evidence as to the character of its food can be furnished than
the results of the examination of forty-nine stomachs as related by Dr.
Fisher. Of these forty contained mice; five, other mammals; one,
lizards; one, the remains of seventy insects (this specimen was killed
in Nebraska); and four, were empty. It is interesting to note “that the
southern limit of its wanderings in winter is nearly coincident with the
southern boundary of the region inhabited by meadow mice.”
Sir John Richardson says, “In the softness and fullness of its plumage,
its feathered legs and habits, this bird bears some resemblance to the
owls. It flies slowly, sits for a long time on the bough of a tree,
watching for mice, frogs, etc., and is often seen sailing over swampy
pieces of ground, and hunting for its prey by the subdued daylight,
which illuminates even the midnight hours in the high parallels of
latitude.” Mr. Ridgway says, “for noble presence and piercing eye this
bird has few equals among our Falconidae.”
The eggs of this species vary from two to five and are usually somewhat
blotched or irregularly marked with chocolate brown on a dull white
background.
The Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo borealis) of our illustration is young and
shows the plumage of the immature form.
This species may be called our winter hawk and for this reason the name
borealis is most appropriate. “The coldest days of January serve to give
this hawk a keener eye and a deeper zest for the chase.” The best
locality to seek the Red-tail may be found at the wooded borders of
pastures and streams, where it can easily perceive and swoop down upon
its prey. It seldom visits a barnyard, but will occasionally catch a
fowl that has strayed away from the protection of buildings. Its food
consists to a great extent of meadow and other species of mice, rabbits
and other rodents. The remains of toads, frogs and snakes have also been
found in its stomach. One writer says, “The Red-tailed Hawk is a
powerful bird and I once saw one strike a full-grown muskrat, which it
tore to pieces and devoured the greater part.”
Dr. Fisher gives an interesting summary of the examination of five
hundred and sixty-two stomachs. Fifty-four contained poultry or game
birds; fifty-one, other birds; two hundred and seventy-eight contained
mice; one hundred and thirty-one, other mammals; thirty-seven, frogs and
related animals or reptiles; forty-seven, insects; eight, crawfish; one,
centipedes; thirteen, offal, and eighty-nine were empty. This surely is
not a bad showing for this bird, so often maligned by being called “hen”
or “chicken-hawk.” Its preferred food is evidently the smaller mammals,
and as it is common or even abundant it must be of great value to
agricultural interests. The younger birds are more apt to take poultry
because of “a lack of skill in procuring a sufficient quantity of the
more usual prey.”
Mr. P. M. Silloway says, “None of the Hawks has suffered more undeserved
persecution than has the Red-tailed Buzzard or Hawk, whose
characteristics place it among the ignoble falcons, or hawks, of feudal
times. Lacking the swiftness and impetuosity of attack peculiar to the
true falcons, it depends on its ability to surprise its prey and drop
upon it when unable to escape.”
During the summer months it retires to the forests to breed, where it
builds a large and bulky though shallow nest in trees, often at a height
of from fifty to seventy-five feet from the ground. The nest is
constructed of sticks and small twigs and lined with grass, moss,
feathers or other soft materials. The number of eggs is usually three,
though there may be two or four. They are a little over two inches long
and less than two inches in diameter. They are dull whitish in color and
usually somewhat marked with various shades of brown.
The full plumage of the adult is not acquired for some time and the bird
has been long full grown before the characteristic red color of the tail
appears.
Seth Mindwell.