File:The book of birds, common birds of town and country and American game birds (1918) (14732443916).jpg

Identifier: bookofbirdscommo00nati (find matches)
Title: The book of birds, common birds of town and country and American game birds
Year: 1918 (1910s)
Authors: National Geographic Society (U.S.) Henshaw, Henry W. (Henry Wetherbee), 1850-1930 Fuertes, Louis Agassiz, 1874-1927 Kennard, F. H., (Frederic Hedge), 1865- Cooke, Wells Woodbridge, 1858-1916 Shiras, George, 1859-1942
Subjects: Birds
Publisher: Washington, D. C. : National Geographic Society
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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culiarly fitted to be thehome of the terns by re.ison of the extensiveshallows and the great number of sandy islandson which terns and gulls used to breed in abso-lute safety. .At the bidding of f.ishior. how-ever, thousands of these beautiful creatureswere slaughtered, till the sand was red withtheir blood and island c(»lonies that used tonumber thousands were exterminatetl. No ex-cuse serves to palliate the crime of the whole-sale murder of these graceful sea swallows, asthey are ajitly termed, which use<l to make ourshores so attractive by their i)resence. But thetide seems to have turnecl, partly at least. Thegoveriunent has set a<ide islands as breeciingresorts and places of refuge and. through theactivity of .Audulwin societies and of individualWorkers, a certain measure of safety seemsnow asstired to these juTsecuted birds. It mayeven prove possible, by the bird sanctuary plan,to increase their numbers again and make thema familiar sight along our <leserted shores. 49
Text Appearing After Image:
Sparrow HawkREn-TAii.KD Haw K 50 SPARROW HAWK (Falco sparverius) RED-TAILED HAWK (Buteo borealis) LeiiKtli, ;il)()iit lo inclifs. This is one of thebest known and hiuulsoniest, as well as thesmallest, of Xnrtli American hawks. Range: Breeds thnniKlioiit the Inited States,Canada, and northern Mexico: winters in theInited States and sonth to (inaten)ala. llahits and economic statns: The sjiarrowhawk, which is a trne falcon, li\es in the moreopen country and builds its nest in hollowtrees. It is abundant in many parts of theWest, where telegraph poles afford it conve-nient perching and feeding places. Its foodconsists of insects, small mannnals, birds, s))i-ders, and reptiles. Grasshoppers, crickets, andterrestrial beetles and caterpillars make upconsiderably more than half its subsistence,while field mice, house mice, and shrews coverfully 25 per cent of its amuial sujiply. Thebalance of the food includes birds, reptiles,and spiders. Contrary to the usual habits ofthe species, some indi

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