Fig. 311.—Screech Owl (Megascops asio).
Question: Compare posture of body, position of eyes, and size of eyes, with other birds.
Fig. 312.—Goshawk, or chicken hawk.
Injurious birds are few. Of course birds which are the enemies of other birds are enemies of mankind, but examples are scarce (some owls and hawks). Many birds of prey are classed thus by mistake. Sparrow-hawks, for instance, do not eat birds except in rare instances; they feed chiefly upon insects. A sparrow hawk often keeps watch over a field where grasshoppers are plentiful and destroys great numbers of them. When a bird is killed because it is supposed to be injurious, the crop should always be examined, and its contents will often surprise those who are sure it is a harmful bird. The writer once found two frogs, three grasshoppers, and five beetles that had been swallowed by a “chicken hawk” killed by an irate farmer, but no sign of birds having been used for food. Fowls should not be raised in open places, but among trees and bushes, where hawks cannot swoop. Birds which live exclusively upon fish are, of course, opposed to human interests. Pigeons are destructive to grain; eagles feed chiefly upon other birds.
Fig. 313.—Road Runner, or chaparral bird (Tex. to Cal.). What order? (Key, p. [177].)
If the birds eat the grapes, do not kill the birds, but plant more grapes. People with two or three fruit trees or a small garden are the only ones that lose a noticeable amount of food. We cut down the forests from which the birds obtain part of their food. We destroy insect pests at great cost of spraying, etc. The commission the birds charge for such work is very small indeed. (See pages [177]–183.)
Fig. 314.—Wood Duck, male (Aix sponsa). Nests in hollow trees throughout North America. Also called summer duck in South. Why?