In this way, forty-eight species (with their sub-species) of hawks and owls have been considered in their relation to agriculture. The food and habits of each species is given in detail, and, for convenience, the whole have been classified and placed in four different groups, as follows:

(a) Those wholly beneficial or wholly harmless

(b) Those chiefly beneficial

(c) Those in which the beneficial and harmful qualities seem to balance each other.

(d) Those positively harmful

6

29

7

6

For our present purpose it will not be necessary to go over the above list in detail, as many of the species enumerated are not found in Ontario; but we have all the bad ones and a good many of the others, and I shall now give these in detail. The total number is twenty-eight.

(a) Those wholly beneficial or wholly harmless. In this class we have only the Rough-legged Buzzard and the Swallow-tailed Kite

(b) Those chiefly beneficial, that is, those which take game and poultry occasionally, but kill enough field mice and other vermin to more than pay for it, leaving a small balance in their favor. In this class we have the Marsh Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Swainson's Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Sparrow Hawk, Barn Owl, Long-eared Owl, Short-eared Owl, Great Gray Owl, Barred Owl, Richardson's Owl, Saw-whet Owl, Screech Owl, Snowy Owl, Hawk Owl. (c) Of those whose good and bad deeds balance each other, we have the Great-horned Owl, Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle, Pigeon Hawk.

(d) Of those which are positively injurious, we have the Gyrfalcon, Goshawk, Cooper's Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, Fish Hawk

2

16

4

6

It is very gratifying to find the report so favorable to our Birds of Prey, and even of Class d a few words in favor might be said. Of course, Dr. Fisher, in the position of judge interpreting the law, could not but condemn where the evidence was so conclusive; but from our standpoint in Ontario, we cannot complain very much, for the two largest and most destructive, the Gyrfalcon and Goshawk, are peculiar to the far north, the former, especially, rarely coming within our boundary; and even the Peregrine, though ranked as an

OUR BIRDS OF PREY.

191

Ontario species, is by no means common. Occasionally, we hear of him striking down a duck at the shooting stations, but we also know that his food at such places consists to a great extent of the different species of waders known as "Mud Hens."

The Fish Hawk has been put upon the black list, because he kills fish. That he does this cannot be denied, but he is a magnificent bird, whose fine presence adds a point of beauty to many a lovely landscape by lake and river, and surely it would be poor policy to kill off this interesting feathered fisher because he takes a few suckers, with now and then a trout or bass by way of a change.

This leaves only two of the six to be considered, and I fear that not much can be said in their favor. Cooper's Hawk, the larger of the two, is not so common throughout Ontario as the Sharp-shinned, but he is the one who will come back day after day to rob the roost or the pigeon loft, and who watches to catch the grouse and quail wherever they appear. This is he, in short, whose misdeeds have brought disgrace on the whole class, and given occasion for the bad name which still clings to them all.

The Sharp-shinned is a smaller bird, content with humbler fare, but his eyes and claws are sharp as needles. He is always on the alert, and few birds escape which he tries to capture. The record is bad for these two, and Dr. Fisher says of them: "Unquestionably both species should be killed wherever and whenever possible."

I can hardly follow the Doctor to this extent, because we have been a long time in discovering the true standing of other species, and it may be that the two now under consideration have some redeeming points with which we are not yet acquainted. At all events we must give them both credit for reducing the number of Passer domesticus, which they do to a considerable extent. Every sparrow they take relieves us of a nuisance, and the greater the number of sparrows they use the less of anything else will be required for their support. Let us then be patient with them, give them another chance, and enjoy the fine exhibitions they give us of their dexterity while capturing their prey in the near neighborhood of our dwelling houses.

ORDER RAPTORES. BIRDS OF PREY.

SUBORDER SARCORHAMPHI. AMERICAN VULTURES.

FAMILY CATHARTIDÆ. AMERICAN VULTURES.

GENUS CATHARTES ILLIGER.

CATHARTES AURA (LINN.).

137. Turkey Vulture. (325)

Blackish-brown; quills, ashy-gray on their under surface; head, red; feet, flesh-colored; bill, white; skin of the head corrugated, sparsely beset with bristle-like feathers; plumage, commencing in a circle on the neck; tail, rounded. Length, about 2 feet; extent, 6; wing, 2; tail, 1.

HAB.-Temperate North America, from New Jersey, Ohio Valley, Saskatchewan region, and Washington Territory southward to Patagonia. Casual northward on the Atlantic coast to Maine. Breeds generally in communities. Nest, on the ground, or in a hollow log or stump.

Eggs, usually two, creamy-white, spotted and blotched with different shades

of brown.

So far as I am aware, the Turkey Buzzard has been observed in Ontario only in the south-western portion of the Province.

Mr. Wagstaff, in the letter already quoted, says: "Turkey Buzzards are frequently seen in Essex sailing around in search of carrion." I once saw it at Baptiste Creek some years ago, but have not heard of its having been seen farther east. Dr. Coues says: "This species has a curious habit of 'playing possum' by simulating death when wounded and captured, the feint being admirably executed and often long protracted."

The Turkey Buzzard is more frequently seen to the west of Ontario than to the east of it. A nest was found by Mr. Arnott at Kerwood, Middlesex County, in 1891.

It is reported as being generally distributed throughout Michigan and Minnesota, and has also been frequently seen in Manitoba.

Dr. Bell says: "I have shot the Turkey Buzzard on the upper Assiniboine, but have never heard of it near Hudson's Bay. The locality referred to is in about latitude 52°. It had not before been noticed north of Minnesota, while on the eastern part of the continent it is rarely found north of New York, or about latitude 41°."

It is a rare visitor to the south-west of Ontario, and to the east I have not heard of its having been observed.

SWALLOW-TAILED KITE.

193

SUBORDER FALCONES. VULTURES, FALCONS, HAWKS,
BUZZARDS, EAGLES, KITES, HARRIERS, ETC.

FAMILY FALCONIDE. VULTURES, FALCONS, HAWKS,
EAGLES, ETC.

SUBFAMILY ACCIPITRINÆ. KITES, BUZZARDS, HAWKS,
GOSHAWKS, EAGLES, ETC.

GENUS ELANOIDES VIEILLOT.

ELANOIDES FORFICATUS (LINN.).

138. Swallow-tailed Kite. (327)

Head, neck and under parts, white; back, wings and tail, lustrous black; feet, greenish-blue; claws, pale. Length, female, 23-25; wing, 16-17; tail, 14; male, a little smaller.

HAB.-Southern United States, especially in the interior, from Pennsylvania and Minnesota southward, throughout Central and South America; westward to the Great Plains. Casual eastward to southern New England. Accidental in England.

Nest, on a tree, constructed of sticks, hay, moss, etc.

Eggs, two, rarely three, whitish, blotched and spotted with chestnut

brown.

In the course of its extensive wanderings, this bold, dashing Kite has been known to visit Ontario. In the "List of Birds of Western Ontario," mention is made of a pair having spent a summer about eight miles north-west of London, and there is also a record of one having alighted on the top of a flagstaff at Ottawa, where it was closely examined through a glass and satisfactorily identified.

The food of this species consists chiefly of snakes, lizards, grasshoppers, locusts, etc., and the fact of these not being abundant in Ontario readily accounts for the absence of the birds. According to Audubon, the Swallow-tailed Hawk feeds chiefly on the wing, pounces on his prey upon the ground, rises with it and devours it while flying. "In calm weather," he further observes, "they soar to an immense height, pursuing the large insects called musquito hawks, and performing the most singular evolutions that can be conceived, using their tail with an elegance peculiar to themselves."

In Dr. Fisher's report it is classed as harmless in its relation to agriculture.

GENUS CIRCUS LACEPEDE.

CIRCUS HUDSONIUS (LINN.).

139. Marsh Hawk. (331)

Adult male:-Pale bluish-ash, nearly unvaried, whitening below and on upper tail coverts; quills, blackish towards the end. Length, 16-18; wing, 14-15; tail, 8-9. Female:-Larger; above, dark brown, streaked with reddishbrown; below, the reverse of this; tail, banded with these colors. Immature male is like the female, though redder, but in any plumage the bird is known by its white upper tail coverts and generic character.

HAB.-North America in general, south to Panama.

Nest, on the ground, composed of twigs and dried grass.

Eggs, four or five, pale greenish-white, sometimes spotted faintly with light brown or lilac.

In Southern Ontario the Marsh Hawk in the red plumage is a wellknown bird, but in the blue phase it is seldom seen. It arrives from the south in April, as soon as the ice is gone, and from that time till November it may usually be seen coursing over the marshes and moist meadows in search of its food, which consists of mice, small birds, snakes, frogs, worms, etc. It breeds sparingly at the St. Clair Flats, becoming quite numerous in the fall on the arrival of those which have bred farther north.

It is one of our most abundant and widely dispersed birds, being found throughout the whole of North America. In Ontario it is found breeding in all suitable places. Dr. Bell mentions its occurrence at Hudson's Bay; it is common among the marshes in the North-West, and also appears in Alaska. One of the most remarkable characteristics of this species is its habit of turning somersaults in the air, which is thus described by Mr. Nelson: "While I was at the Yukon mouth, on May 19th, 1879, a pair of hawks was seen repeatedly crossing the river on different days at a certain point, the leader always performing, as he went, a succession of curious antics. He would turn over and over half a dozen times in succession, like a Tumbler Pigeon, and after descending nearly to the ground he would mount to his former height and repeat the performance, so that his progress became a perfect series of these evolutions. The other bird always flew slowly and smoothly along, as if enjoying the performance of its companion." Nearly all of those seen in Southern Ontario are in the brown plumage, and I have never observed one of them indulge in the eccentricities above described. It may be that they are peculiar to the old male in the blue dress.