Nebraska Newspapers

    THE 8EMI.WEEKLV TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
Birds of Prey Thai Help
XL-K: J tTr- Ft
MMMFUMll EdwaraDQark
Jo
Most hawks and owls
are beneficial. Uncle
Sam wants to protect
them why not assist
him in his good work?
AM LET nald that bo know a hawk
from a handsaw. Perhaps It is bet
tor to know oiio hawk from another.
Countor to tho general bollof.
roost of our North American hawks
aro bcnollr.ent In their liven. In
tho counru of a year thoy do much
moro good than harm, and yet they
aro shot ruthlessly on sight. It
would profit tho man with a poultry
vitrei nrtit n fnrm tn ntnilv ftw linlillu
of hawks a llttlo and to learn to discriminate be
tween tho frlotid and tho foo to his Interests.
Lot us take first' tho hawks ordinarily known as
lion hawks or chicken hawks. Tho hawks commonly-
called by these names rarely kill any chick
oiib. Out tho trouble Is that they got tho blamo
for tho bad doeds of birds that "sneak In1' to tho
poultry yard, do their killing and muko their
oscapa wullo tho big bird soaring In plain sight
against tho heavens Is charged with being tho
culprit and rocoivos tho present of a charge or
shot If opportunity offers
Tako tho rod-tailed hawk for Instance. He Is
known to tho scientist as Butco borealls, In tho
Wost tho soaring "chickon hawk" almost Invari
ably Is tho rodtail, About onco a year perhaps
tho rodtail will pick up a chickon. but for tho rost
of tho tltno ho contents' himself with a diet of
frogs, snakes, crawfish, insects, and small mam
main, mostly of an Injurious habit of llfo. Tho
number of Hold mice that a rod-tallod hawk In tho
courtio of a month will catch und dovour Is almost
Incredible.
Tho good that this "chicken hawk" does bo far
outweighs tho harm that It Is a living shamo It Is
hunted so coasolossly. If thoro over was a crea
ture In tho world about whom thoro aro a thou
sand mlstnkon thoughts that creature Is tho rod
tailed hawk, tho commonest of our "chicken
hawko."
Ordinarily ono thinks of birds of proy as being
oxceedlngly bold. Somo of thorn aro. But tho
rodtail Is on protty nearly every occasion an ar
rant coward, Ho Is meokly submlsslvo to tho as
saults of tho kingbird, and ho la a perfect poltroon
In tho face of an attack from a crow, I havo soon
a crow buffot a rod-tallod hawk for half an hour,
tho hawk making absolutely no attempt. ttWlafond
hlmsolf and apparently holng afraid to loaro its
porch on a foncopost far fear that tho crow would
got a greater advanfugo while insight. As n rulo
tho couragoous hawks aro tho injurious hawks
Thoro Is another hawk similar- In Its habits to
tho rodtail. It is fulrly common In many parts
of tho United States and particularly so oust of
the Mississippi river. It Is culled tho rod-shoul-dered
hawk, and with tho rodtail it shares tho
Ignominy of being known whorover It appears as
a chicken hawk. Llko the rodtail it occasionally
kills r, chicken, nut It dunrly loves ruts, mice
troo-glrdllng rabbits, frogs, am Insects. Tho rod
shouldored hawk soars, and soars, and soars, and
when It is seen againBt tho sky tho shotgun Is
brought out and an attempt Is mado to kill tho
friend that la looking for Hold mico, gopherB or
something else, and with Its thoughts, far removed
from the chicken coop.
In a suburb of Washington, D. C a friend of
mine haB a country placo whoro ho rulsos largo
numbers of chickens. This frlond 1b a bird lover
and ho haB many species of Amorlcau birds dwoll
tag at his doorstep. Hack of his houso ho has
about twenty acres of woodland, and In those
woods lived two pairs of rod-ahouldorod hawks,
f My friend asked mo If ho Bhould kill tho hawks
Ih Order to saVo his chickens. I told him to leave
tho hawks alono and ho did so for a long timo
Finally on ono unfortunate day ono of tho rod
shouldered gontlemon descended on tho poultry
yard and mado off with a pullet. Death waB de
creed for the hawks and Boon they woro killed
Within a few weeks tbo chlckons began to dis
appear, or, at any rate, w$re found dead with their
llfehlood gone, and In some casos partly devoured
The weasels were at work. After tho hawks wore
killed the weasola multiplied in groat numbers
and took their heavy toll of roosters, Iioub and
little chlcka of uncertain box. My frlond was sorry
that ho had killed tho hawks.
Si'SB tnoro t" 11,0 sparrow hawk, known to tho
scientist as Falco spafvorluB. This la tho smallost
of tho hawks of North Amorlca, and It linn a rango
all over tho Unltod States. Tho sparrow hawk
almost unquestionably Is tho moat beautiful, ns It
Is tho smallost, of our birds of proy. This llttlo
hawk Is unfortunately named. It was dubbod
sparrow hawk long betoro tho day of tho 13 Ush
Hparrows In this country. It was bo cullod bo
cause It occaslpnally captured and killed somo of
our native Amorlcan sparrows, which, for tho most
part, aro bonoflcent birds. Latoly tho sparrow
hawk when It doos any bird killing at all, turns Us
attention largoly to English sparrows, and thoro
by adds to the services which it otherwise ren
ders. Tjie sparrow hawk llvoa mostly on small
Injurious mammals, Insects, grasshoppers, cater
pillars, and tho llko. U should bo Bald, how
ever, that fully 26 por cont of tho food of tho spar
row hawk consists of Held mice, houso mice and
shrews.
A. pair of sparrow hawks havo a nest, or at any
rata a resting ylace. back of a big broiuo oaglo
which spreadB Its wings near tho roof on the faco
of the state, war, and navy building In Washing
ton directly across a narrow street from one end
of the White House. Theso two. sparrow hawks
hunt the White House grounds dally. It may not
be the same pair, but two sparrow uawkB have
. been abiding back of tho state department oaglo
for a good many years.
When Theodore Roosevelt was prosldent he
searched the grounds around the White House
every once tn a while to discover what he could in
tii e way or wild life. Next to birds, he was partic
ularly Interested In field mlqe. Occasionally he la-
1 r 1 1 1 - -i
NtWAPttAiMION
jj
mented tho fact that ho could not Hnd moro bpo
cles of tho llttlo mammals than ho did In tho
Whlto Houso yard. I alwnys havo thought that
tho roaBon was to bo found back or tho oaglo on
tho atato department rront. Tho two sparrow
hawks kept Urn lawns protty woll clear of tho
minor rodonts,
Tho marsh hawk, Circus hudsonius, Ib ono of tho
most beautiful blrda of proy in tho Unltod States
and ono of tho most usoful. Tho udult male has
a bluish slato body, Rtroaked with whlto. and be
coming pure white Just above tho tail and under
neath. Tho uhdorparts aro lightly specked with
reddish brown. Tho adult fomalo and tho young
aro rusty In color, with a good many fltreuka.
Marsh hawks, as tholr name suggests, haunt tho
wet places, but frequently thoy aro Boon Hying low
oyer tho dry Holds and tho prairies. Perhaps one
cannot do bettor thou to quote Vernon nnlloy on
tho Bubjoct or tho marsh hawk. Ho writes:
"Tho Intelligent faYmor usually recognizes the
value of this hawk und tho fact that it almost
novor touches his poultry. Ho sees It skimming
over his meadows and diving into tho grass for
mice, und wisely lots Its llvo; but novorthelesB ho
would bo surprised If ho could figure out how
many dollars It savos him during tho year."
It Is virtually Impossible within, tho scopo of a
comparatively Bhort article to glvo anything llko
a full lst with descriptions or all tho bcnotlclul
hawks in tho United States. They form a feath
ered legion. Lot us, howovor, tako ono or moro
of theso birds of proy for a llttlo advisory dis
course Tho SwaluBon hawk, Buteo Bwuluaont, Ib
distributed from tho for arctic regions way south
ward to tho Argentine Itopubllc. In tho United
States, It Is fulrly common rrom tho western
ocean to Wisconsin and Illinois, and occasionally
It Is found in tho Kast.
Major Ilendtro, tho army ornithologist, wroto of
this hawk, which ho studied for a long tlmo:
Tho rood or Swalnson'8 hawk consists almost
ontlroly or tho smaller rodents, principally strlpod
gophers and mlco, as well as grasshoppers and tbo
largo black cricket which Is very common, as
well as destructive, in cortaln seasons, and tho
bane of tho farniors In eastern Oregon, Washing
ton, Idaho, Nevada, und other localities In tho
Great Dasln, destroying and eating up every green
thing as thoy movo along. 1 cannot recall a sin
gle Instance where am or theso blrdB vlsltod a
poultry yard. From an economic point or view I
consider It by far tho most uaefut and benotlclal
of all our hawks,"
Now for something about a fow or our bene
Holal owls. Everybody knows, or ought to know,
tho llttlo screech owl which Bits at tho entrance to
Its hole In a hollow treo and utters Its querulous,
curious cry. This little bird has two upstanding
turts of feathers which servo to distinguish it
from a less common but very much similar owl
or which something will bo wrltton turther on. Or
owls which are not described hero at length,
among tho most useful aro tho barred owl,
tho long-eared and tho short-oared owls.
Tho screoch owl Is ono or tho best mousers In
tho world. It also is a great destroyer or Insects.
It starts its hunting about sunset and it Journeys
round and round tho buildings in tho country
looking for Ub favorito quarry. It kills thousands
upon thousands of mlco overy year. Dr. A. K.
Fisher, tho government's export In all matters per
taining to hawks and owls, suya of the little
screech owls that tholr economic relations aro of
tho greatest. Importance, "particularly on account
of tho abundance of the specleB In rarmlng dis
tricts; and whoovor destroys them through Ignor
ance or prejudlco should bo severely condomned."
It was the barn owl, or a species closely allied
to It, ot which Gray wroto In hia "Elegy," "tho
moping owl doth to tho moon complain." Some
times tho barn owl is called tho monkoy;faced owl
becauso its countenance does look a trlilo like that
of th'o monkey. In recent years tho barn owls
havo been decreasing In numbers becauso of the
mistaken belief thut they kill poultry. Tha
troublo Is that barn owls frequently llvo In barns
or In other structures reared by man, and becauso
they aro soon therefore about the poultry
yards rrequontly tho Impression is given that thoy
are chickon thieves. Tho barn owl, however. Is
ono or tho most benotlclal or all our rapacious
birds. It dearly loves ratB and mice, and ono barn
owl Is worth a dozen cuts as a ratter and mouser.
There Is a little owl commonly called tho "saw
whot," which is an interesting and beneficial crea
ture. At Hrst glnuco ono might think that tho
saw-whet owl is a screech owl, but on taking a
second look, it will be seen that the saw-whot
lacks the ear tutts or feathered horns that are
worn by Us llttlo cousin.
Tho saw-whot owl gotB its nanio from the fact
that its noto sounds llko tho whetting of a saw.
It can bo readily understood, thoroforo, that this
bird Is not much or a musician. It Is a groat
mousor, and like most of tho othor owls seems to
prefer these small rodonts to almost any other
arttclo ot diet.
Tho saw-whot owl raises a large family each
year. It koops tho father and mother exceedingly
busy to get enough mlco to feed the offspring, but
they keep at tho hunting work for hours at a
tlmo and probably deny themselves many a mouae
morsel In crder that tho young may get enough
to oat.
It la an easy matter for n person to got from the
government full knowledge of 'the habits or the
bcnoHclal hawks und owls or tho United States,
Tho, biological survey or tho department or agri
culture has tho records In the case, and It will be
glad enough to furnjah Information to persons
seeking it Uncle Sam wants to savo most ot
hta hawks and owls '
Why not help him do It?
RULES EASILY UNDERSTOOD,
Tho "Llttlo CltlzonB" committee or tho Bolla
Vlatu playground In Oakland, Cal., aBkod to draw
up rules und regulations on conduct or tho
grounds, submitted tho following series:
"No cigarottes. They're no good. Any boy
found smoking will be shown tho gato.
"You've got to keep paper and trash off tho
grounds. It you tat here, do It' decent and tako
tho refuse away with you. If you don't, look out
for troublo.
"Small children must bo given a chance all the
time. If any boy takes anything away from a lit
tle kid, hell get his.
"Say 'thanks.' It dbn't hurt you. and bolng
polite ain't a crime." From tho Playground.
TRAVEL MADE SAFE.
The terrors of the desert will havo no fears ror
tho transopntlnontal tourist making tho trip by
auto over tho Lincoln highway. It Is planned to
run a double copper telophono wlro along tho Lin
coln highway trom Salt Lake City to Ely, and
thence to tteno. Cut-in stations will- bo established
ono mile apart along tho way, and by moans of
these, stations no traveler could ovor bocomo
stranded at a greater dlstanco than a hair mile
from a telephone station rrom which he could
call for relief, A traveler wilt be ablo to procuro
an instrument at either end or this route by pay
Ing a small deposit on It, Just sufficient to insure
its return In propor condition when he reaches
the station nt the other end or his Journey.
(J7T-or-ua)iNAHy
EOPLE f-
BEAU BRUMMELL HOBO
Playing tho part or a tramp lloau
Brummell, Charles Paradlso, a Colgato
collogo student, recontly travelod rrom
Miami, Fla., to Now York, 1,600 miles,
by "hopping" automobiles. This sum
in or, ho says, ho" is going to San Fran
cisco and return ovor tho Lincoln
highway, Just by asking persons along
tho way ror a "lift,"
"It's tho easiest thing In the
world," ho said. "I hardly evor get
turned down. All I do Is stand at tha
Bide ot tho road and wavo my hand
nt a machine. Then, when it Btops, 1
ask If thero's any room and if they
mind giving mo a lift. I haven't mot
a grouchy guy on tho trip. Lots of
tho Deoplo ask mo to spend tho night
at their homes."
Paradise Ib a fastidious tramp,
too. Ho rises at 10:30 in tho morn
ing and has breakfast boforo going
on tho road. Ho moves in the best
of society along tho route, having
called on Govornor Manning of South Carolina, Governor Craig of North Caro
lina, J. W. Payntor at Palm Boach and Vincent Astor. Paradlso stopped eight
weeks at Palm Hcach, being Introduced by persons ho mot on tho road.
While coming up from Florida ho stopped oft at Augusta to seo tho rulria
of tho big Hro, attended a barbecuo In South Carolina and heard Wilson
dollver his special message to congress on tho eubmarlno controversy by
posing as a newspaper reporter.
By his method Paradlso makes between 150 and 200 miles a day. While
ho was attending high school and living with his mother in Albany, ho made
?2,000 by running a nowa stand in an ofllco building and working in vacations.
Ho still has part of this money, and hopes It will carry him part of tho way to
tho Coast this summer.
HBL A mm
f-
ASHURST AT THE BAR
Back In hla younger days ho
isn't very old yet Henry F. Ashurst,
United States senator from Arizona,
served as a deputy sheriff. Ho took
the work seriously and seldom did a
day pass without his picking up somo
desperado and hustling him to the
county jail. Boford locking up a
prisoner, howovor, It was nocessary
for a deputy sheriff to visit tho retail
establishment of a cortaln prominent
drink merchant, because' the koy to
tho lockup was kopt there on a nail
behind tho bar. There was only ono
koy, but thoro woro several deputy
sheriffs and .a great many people to
bo placed In jail. So tho only thing
to do was to have tho key In a contral
location sire to bo open at any hour
of tho day or night. Tho liquor mer
chant, bolng a public-spirited, high
mlndod citizen, hospitably contributed
a nail in his establishment and tho
koy hung thoro off and on for a long
tlmo. That nail and Us location came near being the undoing of Ashurat A
photographer snapped a picture of him ono day as ho was standing bacK of
tho bar, en route to tho nail. This picture fell into unfriendly hands and from
then on it was published and republished all over Arizona. ,Many got the
erroneous ImpresBlon that Ashurst spent most of his tlmo shopping about tho
stores of them that sold drinks. It took him just seven years to live that
plcturo down.
BETANCOURT BUYS A HAT
The other day Sonor Don Julio
Botancourt, mlnlstor to the United
States rrom Colombia, rocolved a wire
less message from Senora Betancourt,
who was on board tho steamer Al
mlrante on her way to this country.
Tho minister, with a worried expres
sion on his countenance, at once took
a train tor Now York and hustled over
to tho Fltth avenue shopping district,
for tho wireless told him that his wile
had lost her hat overboard and,
though sho had plenty of hats, loft,
not ono was fit for a minister's wlfo
to wear when landing in tho metropo
lis. Protty soon a rovonuo cuttoi
boro Don Julio down the bay to moot'
the Almlranto, and with him was an
attache of tho Colombia embassy car
rying a big hat box In his lap as ten
derly as if it woro a baby.
Buying a hat for a woman .on u
wireless description Is a matter of
deep concern, and Sonor np.tnnrnnrt
It wnq with vnat rnllnf tv,t ...... 1. 1.. t.
"- . i.iivj. inuk ,ia oun ma vvim
don tho creation ho had purchased and wear it ashorn without nniwitni iB
ot disapproval.
was anxiously aware of tho fact.
L"
GRAND OLD MAN OF MEDICINE
Dr. Abraham Jacobl, known
throughout tho country as tho "Grand
Old Man of Medicine" and the frlond
of tho babies, recently celobratod his
eighty-sixth birthday by attending to
the needs of his many patients in
New York. Despite his advanced ago
ho Is a very uctlve man and partici
pates in many civic and national
events.
Doctor Jacobl has been a prac
ticing physician for 63 years and is
known throughout the world as an
authority on the diseases of infants.
He is the author or many books, and
not long ago served as president of
tbo Amorlcan Medical association.
Ho was born at Hartum, West
phalia, and got his M. D. degree at
Bonn. Ho was identified with tho
German revolutionary movement and
was in detention in Berlin and Co
logne, boing imprisoned for high trea
son. He enmo to this country In 1853
and has enjoyed a large practice among the rich and haB long boen a bene
factor ot tho poor. Ho has been showered with many medical honors and will
always be beloved for tho work he has done for tho babies. He has always
striven for bettor milk, hotter bablea, better living, better conditions, and
better parents.
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