. Our bird allies . now, and others all but so, for the same workof destruction has been carried on, more or less, eversince. The list is by Mr. A. E. Knox. Here it is :— 27 white-tailed eagles, 15 golden eagles, 18ospreys or fishing eagles, 98 blue hawks, 275 kites,5 marsh-harriers, 63 goshawks, 7 orange-legged fal-cons, II hobby-hawks, 285 common buzzards, 371rough-legged buzzards, 5 honey-buzzards, 462 kes-trels, 78 mulen-hawks, S;^ hen-harriers, 9 ash-colouredhawks, 6 ger-falcons, 1,437 hooded and carrion crows,475 ravens, 35 horned owls, 71 common fern-owls,3 golden owl, barn, or white ow
. Our bird allies . now, and others all but so, for the same workof destruction has been carried on, more or less, eversince. The list is by Mr. A. E. Knox. Here it is :— 27 white-tailed eagles, 15 golden eagles, 18ospreys or fishing eagles, 98 blue hawks, 275 kites,5 marsh-harriers, 63 goshawks, 7 orange-legged fal-cons, II hobby-hawks, 285 common buzzards, 371rough-legged buzzards, 5 honey-buzzards, 462 kes-trels, 78 mulen-hawks, S;^ hen-harriers, 9 ash-colouredhawks, 6 ger-falcons, 1,437 hooded and carrion crows,475 ravens, 35 horned owls, 71 common fern-owls,3 golden owl, barn, or white owl, comparatively rarein Scotland, and 8 magpies. As far as the Sparrow-hawk is concerned, it must HAWKS AND OWLS. 25 be owned that there is some justification for hisslaughter; for both the poultry-yard and the covertare among his favourite hunting-grounds, and hisfrequent depredations therein of course tell verymuch in his disfavour. But, like almost all othermischievous creatures, he has his redeeming features,. The Sparrow-hawk. and, as the late Mr. E. Newman well remarks, if leftto himself will save the wages of at least three boys,merely by scaring the sparrows from the ripeningcorn. Mice are also frequently numbered amonghis victims, and upon the mischievous capabilities ofthese little creatures it is needless to enlarge. 26 OUR BIRD ALLIES. On the other hand, poultry, and more especiallygame animals, suffer very considerably at the hands—or rather talons—of this hawk. Swooping sud-denly and silently from some coign of vantage, a hap-less chick or duckling is carried off before it is awareof its danger, and the hawk secures its retreat longbefore the theft is discovered. Or, it makes a raidupon the domains of the gamekeeper, and wreakshavoc among the young pheasants and partridgeswhich have been tended with so much care. Nordoes a leveret or a young rabbit come amiss to it,and, its appetite being practically insatiable, it maywell be understood that its presence in
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1887
