[Contents]CHAPTER XIXKESTRELS, KITES AND BUZZARDSHawk-owl or KestrelHawk-owl or Kestrel“The kestrel belongs to the falcon family, as may be seen from the small, sharp tooth on each side of the tip of the beak. It is rather a handsome bird, about the size of a pigeon, red in color, with black spots, and a white tip to the tail. The beak is blue and the legs are yellow. The kestrel is the most widely scattered bird of prey and the one most often seen near human habitations. Its favorite haunts are old castles, lofty towers, and belfries. One often sees it flying with untiring wing around these buildings, uttering the while a piercing cry,plee, plee, plee! pree, pree, pree!which it sends forth to frighten the sparrows snuggling in holes in the wall, so that it may seize them when they fly out. It carefully plucks the little captured birds before eating them; but it has another kind of prey which gives it less trouble, and that is the mouse, which it enters open barns in order[145]to catch, also the fat and savory field-mouse, which it spies from on high when holding itself motionless in the air in one position with tail and wings gracefully extended. What will it do with its catch? Will it skin the creature for the sake of cleanliness, as it plucks the sparrow? No, the common mouse and the field-mouse are dainty morsels of which the kestrel would be loath to lose a single drop of blood. The rodent is swallowed just as it is, whole if small, piecemeal if large. After digestion the skin and bones are thrown up through the beak in the form of little balls, just as in the case of the owl.KiteKite“The kestrel nests in old towers, abandoned ruins, hollow rocks. Its nest, made of twigs and roots, holds four or five rust-colored eggs marbled with brown.“We will pass now to the kite, which is different from all other birds of prey, with its broad and forked tail, its very long wings, its rather slender claws, and its very small beak, a beak not at all in keeping with the bird’s size, which exceeds that of the falcon. This beak makes the bird cowardly to excess, frightened by the slightest danger, put to flight by a mere crow.[146]“If pressed by hunger, however, the kite will venture into the neighborhood of pigeon-cotes and poultry-yards in order to seize young pigeons and little chickens. Fortunately, the hen, if she has time to gather her brood under her wings, can scare the invader away by simply showing her anger. For want of poultry, the kite, which is hated by thrifty country people, attacks reptiles, rats, field-mice, and meadow-mice; and if it can get nothing else it will content itself with carrion, such as dead sheep and spoiled fish.“The kite’s extended wings measure more than a meter and a half from tip to tip, and its flight presents a fine spectacle. When the bird sweeps in wide circles through the upper atmosphere, it is as if it were swimming, gliding without the least apparent exertion. Then all at once it stops in its flight and remains suspended in one position for a quarter of an hour at a stretch, held there by an invisible movement of the wings.“The kite is of a deep red hue on the back and rust-colored on the breast and stomach, with a whitish head and the large wing-feathers black. Its cry resembles a cat’s mewing. It builds its nest in tall trees or, still oftener, in the hollows of rocks. Its eggs, commonly three in number, are white shading into dingy yellow and speckled with a few irregular brown spots.“The birds known as harriers have a small semicircular collar of fine thick feathers projecting from each side of the face and reaching from beak to[147]ear, much like the ring around the hornless owl’s eyes. In the contour of the breast, in the long legs and wings, and in the still longer tail, they have something of the falcon’s appearance and bearing; while in their large head and in the little collar around the face they are not unlike the nocturnal birds of prey. Harriers frequent marshes and the banks of stagnant bodies of water, where they lie concealed among the rushes in order to seize any small rodents, reptiles, or insects that may come within their reach. The farmer has no complaint to bring against them, as they show proper respect for his little pigeons, chickens, and ducklings. Indeed, they are welcome visitors on account of their strong liking for field-mice. Unfortunately, the hunter accuses them of killing game, especially water-fowl, hares, and rabbits.“In this connection it is to be noted that the weasel, a small carnivorous quadruped with a thirst for blood, is wont to make its way into warrens in quest of young hares and rabbits, in order to suck their blood, after which the dead bodies are left behind some bush. These murderous operations do not escape the harrier’s vigilance. In its leisurely flights it keeps a sharp eye on the surroundings of all warrens in the woods, for the purpose of carrying off any dead bodies and feasting on the weasel’s leavings. That it may occasionally be at fault and mistake a live rabbit for a dead one, I should not dare deny; but after all I forgive it willingly enough, and in consideration of its war on field-mice I should[148]be inclined to bestow upon it the honorable title of farmer’s helper.“If we may feel some uncertainty about harriers, there is no such doubt concerning buzzards. In them we certainly have very valuable helpers, large eaters of field-mice and meadow-mice, and great destroyers of moles, those tireless burrowers whose numbers must be kept within strict limits. Buzzards have a short, wide beak, curving downward from the base; wings very long, but not pointed, reaching almost to the tip of the tail; strong legs, and the space between the eyes and nostrils bristling with hairs.“Buzzards are fond of repose and phlegmatic by nature; or it might be more accurate to say that they are endowed with a remarkable capacity for patient and motionless waiting, a gift very necessary for the successful hunting of the field-mouse, which must be watched for by the hour at the mouth of its burrow. For half a day at a time, if need be, the buzzard lies in wait without making the least movement or giving the slightest sign of impatience. One would take it to be asleep. Then, all of a sudden, the bird falls to hacking the soil with its beak and tearing the turf with its powerful claws. A disemboweled mole is brought to light, or perhaps a field-mouse is the prize, and in either event the victim is no sooner caught than swallowed.“Now do you know what reputation the buzzard has won by this habit of long and motionless waiting so indispensable in the quest of game with the acuteness of hearing characteristic of the mole and of[149]rodents? The reputation of stupidity. We say of a person of limited intelligence that he is as stupid as a buzzard. Here again is an instance of that wrong-headedness which makes us think little of so many of our helpers and glorify those that prey upon us. Stupidity is the name we give to the buzzard’s peculiarities, and for no better reason than that the bird spares our poultry-yards and rids us of troublesome rodents; whereas we speak of the eagle, which steals our lambs, and of the falcon, plunderer of chicken-coops, as courageous, noble, and splendid.“The common buzzard is a large brown bird with a whitish throat, stomach-feathers marked with little lines alternately brown and white, and tail crossed by nine or ten dark stripes. Its beak is whitish at the base and black at the tip, its eyes and legs yellow. This species nests in tall trees, the nest being made of interwoven twigs and lined with wool and hair. It lays but three eggs at most, which are whitish and irregularly sprinkled with dingy yellow spots. It is the common buzzard especially that has won the reputation of stupidity with its leisurely flying and its patience in watching for prey. It usually watches on some mound of earth. Observers who have studied its habits say that sixteen is about the number of mice it commonly eats in one day, which makes nearly six thousand a year.”“That’s the kind of bird we should like to have[150]about our houses if we could only tame it,” remarked Jules.“There is nothing to prevent our trying it,” his uncle rejoined. “The buzzard’s disposition is good enough. Other observers, who have studied its hunting of field-mice, estimate that it eats nearly four thousand of these in one year. From this number you can form some idea of the multitude of little rodents a whole flock of buzzards would be able to destroy. But we must not give the bird too much praise. I know that it does not hesitate, when occasion offers, to seize and carry off a wounded young hare; and I also know that when the snow is on the ground and the buzzard is pressed by hunger, it will pounce upon any stray chicken that may have got out of the poultry-yard. But what are these few acts of theft when compared with the thousands of rodents of all kinds that it clears away from our fields? Whatever the season of the year, one cannot open a buzzard’s crop without finding common mice, field-mice, and meadow-mice there by the dozen. If I owned a field that was ravaged by these rodents, I should lose no time in planting a few stumps there to serve as perches and watch-towers for buzzards in their patient hunt for their favorite game.“There is another variety of buzzard, the hawk-buzzard, that does us good service in its fondness for larvæ, caterpillars, and insects generally, particularly wasps.”[151]“What, those wasps that hurt so when they sting?” asked Emile.“Yes, my boy; this buzzard feasts on the wasps whose sting is so painful to us; it swallows them without a thought of their sting, just as the hedgehog devours the viper and never worries about its venomous fangs. The bird attacks their nests with its beak and pulls out the nymphs from their cells, carrying them, fat and tender, to its little ones.Rough-legged BuzzardRough-legged Buzzard“This buzzard is a somewhat smaller bird than the common buzzard. Its back is brown, its throat light yellow with brown stripes, and its breast and stomach white sprinkled with dark heart-shaped spots. The tail is crossed by three wide dark bands, the beak is black, and, finally, the head of the old male is bluish-gray. The bird nests in woods, in tall trees, and its eggs are rather small, being yellowish-white in color, but with so thick a sprinkling of large brown spots as sometimes almost to hide the color underneath.“The feather-legged buzzard has legs covered with long feathers, as in certain species of pigeons bearing the same qualifying name. It frequents river banks, uncultivated fields, and woods, and lives[152]on field-mice, moles, reptiles, and if need be on insects.Snake-buzzardSnake-buzzard(Also called short-toed eagle)“Here let us bring to a close our talk on birds of prey. I have told you about the more important ones, both diurnal and nocturnal, about their habits, their food, and the services or the harm they do us. It is now for you to add to what these brief talks have taught you, by observing the things that come under your eyes every day. Do not fail to examine with some care the buzzard as you see it perched on a mound and patiently watching for a field-mouse; also the kestrel as it flies screaming around the belfry and pounces, sometimes on a mouse, sometimes on a sparrow; and the kite, too, as it soars on motionless wings in the blue sky. You will get from this sort of study, first, a great deal of pleasure, and, secondly, knowledge that will be highly useful if you ever have a farm or a garden.”“It seems to me,” said Jules, “that you have left out the very commonest of the birds of prey, the crows.”[153]“Crows are not birds of prey,” replied Uncle Paul. “They have not the hooked beak, the clutching claws, or the sharp, curved nails of birds formed for a life of rapine. I will tell you about them to-morrow; or, rather, I will begin with that one of the crow family known as the raven.”[154]
[Contents]CHAPTER XIXKESTRELS, KITES AND BUZZARDSHawk-owl or KestrelHawk-owl or Kestrel“The kestrel belongs to the falcon family, as may be seen from the small, sharp tooth on each side of the tip of the beak. It is rather a handsome bird, about the size of a pigeon, red in color, with black spots, and a white tip to the tail. The beak is blue and the legs are yellow. The kestrel is the most widely scattered bird of prey and the one most often seen near human habitations. Its favorite haunts are old castles, lofty towers, and belfries. One often sees it flying with untiring wing around these buildings, uttering the while a piercing cry,plee, plee, plee! pree, pree, pree!which it sends forth to frighten the sparrows snuggling in holes in the wall, so that it may seize them when they fly out. It carefully plucks the little captured birds before eating them; but it has another kind of prey which gives it less trouble, and that is the mouse, which it enters open barns in order[145]to catch, also the fat and savory field-mouse, which it spies from on high when holding itself motionless in the air in one position with tail and wings gracefully extended. What will it do with its catch? Will it skin the creature for the sake of cleanliness, as it plucks the sparrow? No, the common mouse and the field-mouse are dainty morsels of which the kestrel would be loath to lose a single drop of blood. The rodent is swallowed just as it is, whole if small, piecemeal if large. After digestion the skin and bones are thrown up through the beak in the form of little balls, just as in the case of the owl.KiteKite“The kestrel nests in old towers, abandoned ruins, hollow rocks. Its nest, made of twigs and roots, holds four or five rust-colored eggs marbled with brown.“We will pass now to the kite, which is different from all other birds of prey, with its broad and forked tail, its very long wings, its rather slender claws, and its very small beak, a beak not at all in keeping with the bird’s size, which exceeds that of the falcon. This beak makes the bird cowardly to excess, frightened by the slightest danger, put to flight by a mere crow.[146]“If pressed by hunger, however, the kite will venture into the neighborhood of pigeon-cotes and poultry-yards in order to seize young pigeons and little chickens. Fortunately, the hen, if she has time to gather her brood under her wings, can scare the invader away by simply showing her anger. For want of poultry, the kite, which is hated by thrifty country people, attacks reptiles, rats, field-mice, and meadow-mice; and if it can get nothing else it will content itself with carrion, such as dead sheep and spoiled fish.“The kite’s extended wings measure more than a meter and a half from tip to tip, and its flight presents a fine spectacle. When the bird sweeps in wide circles through the upper atmosphere, it is as if it were swimming, gliding without the least apparent exertion. Then all at once it stops in its flight and remains suspended in one position for a quarter of an hour at a stretch, held there by an invisible movement of the wings.“The kite is of a deep red hue on the back and rust-colored on the breast and stomach, with a whitish head and the large wing-feathers black. Its cry resembles a cat’s mewing. It builds its nest in tall trees or, still oftener, in the hollows of rocks. Its eggs, commonly three in number, are white shading into dingy yellow and speckled with a few irregular brown spots.“The birds known as harriers have a small semicircular collar of fine thick feathers projecting from each side of the face and reaching from beak to[147]ear, much like the ring around the hornless owl’s eyes. In the contour of the breast, in the long legs and wings, and in the still longer tail, they have something of the falcon’s appearance and bearing; while in their large head and in the little collar around the face they are not unlike the nocturnal birds of prey. Harriers frequent marshes and the banks of stagnant bodies of water, where they lie concealed among the rushes in order to seize any small rodents, reptiles, or insects that may come within their reach. The farmer has no complaint to bring against them, as they show proper respect for his little pigeons, chickens, and ducklings. Indeed, they are welcome visitors on account of their strong liking for field-mice. Unfortunately, the hunter accuses them of killing game, especially water-fowl, hares, and rabbits.“In this connection it is to be noted that the weasel, a small carnivorous quadruped with a thirst for blood, is wont to make its way into warrens in quest of young hares and rabbits, in order to suck their blood, after which the dead bodies are left behind some bush. These murderous operations do not escape the harrier’s vigilance. In its leisurely flights it keeps a sharp eye on the surroundings of all warrens in the woods, for the purpose of carrying off any dead bodies and feasting on the weasel’s leavings. That it may occasionally be at fault and mistake a live rabbit for a dead one, I should not dare deny; but after all I forgive it willingly enough, and in consideration of its war on field-mice I should[148]be inclined to bestow upon it the honorable title of farmer’s helper.“If we may feel some uncertainty about harriers, there is no such doubt concerning buzzards. In them we certainly have very valuable helpers, large eaters of field-mice and meadow-mice, and great destroyers of moles, those tireless burrowers whose numbers must be kept within strict limits. Buzzards have a short, wide beak, curving downward from the base; wings very long, but not pointed, reaching almost to the tip of the tail; strong legs, and the space between the eyes and nostrils bristling with hairs.“Buzzards are fond of repose and phlegmatic by nature; or it might be more accurate to say that they are endowed with a remarkable capacity for patient and motionless waiting, a gift very necessary for the successful hunting of the field-mouse, which must be watched for by the hour at the mouth of its burrow. For half a day at a time, if need be, the buzzard lies in wait without making the least movement or giving the slightest sign of impatience. One would take it to be asleep. Then, all of a sudden, the bird falls to hacking the soil with its beak and tearing the turf with its powerful claws. A disemboweled mole is brought to light, or perhaps a field-mouse is the prize, and in either event the victim is no sooner caught than swallowed.“Now do you know what reputation the buzzard has won by this habit of long and motionless waiting so indispensable in the quest of game with the acuteness of hearing characteristic of the mole and of[149]rodents? The reputation of stupidity. We say of a person of limited intelligence that he is as stupid as a buzzard. Here again is an instance of that wrong-headedness which makes us think little of so many of our helpers and glorify those that prey upon us. Stupidity is the name we give to the buzzard’s peculiarities, and for no better reason than that the bird spares our poultry-yards and rids us of troublesome rodents; whereas we speak of the eagle, which steals our lambs, and of the falcon, plunderer of chicken-coops, as courageous, noble, and splendid.“The common buzzard is a large brown bird with a whitish throat, stomach-feathers marked with little lines alternately brown and white, and tail crossed by nine or ten dark stripes. Its beak is whitish at the base and black at the tip, its eyes and legs yellow. This species nests in tall trees, the nest being made of interwoven twigs and lined with wool and hair. It lays but three eggs at most, which are whitish and irregularly sprinkled with dingy yellow spots. It is the common buzzard especially that has won the reputation of stupidity with its leisurely flying and its patience in watching for prey. It usually watches on some mound of earth. Observers who have studied its habits say that sixteen is about the number of mice it commonly eats in one day, which makes nearly six thousand a year.”“That’s the kind of bird we should like to have[150]about our houses if we could only tame it,” remarked Jules.“There is nothing to prevent our trying it,” his uncle rejoined. “The buzzard’s disposition is good enough. Other observers, who have studied its hunting of field-mice, estimate that it eats nearly four thousand of these in one year. From this number you can form some idea of the multitude of little rodents a whole flock of buzzards would be able to destroy. But we must not give the bird too much praise. I know that it does not hesitate, when occasion offers, to seize and carry off a wounded young hare; and I also know that when the snow is on the ground and the buzzard is pressed by hunger, it will pounce upon any stray chicken that may have got out of the poultry-yard. But what are these few acts of theft when compared with the thousands of rodents of all kinds that it clears away from our fields? Whatever the season of the year, one cannot open a buzzard’s crop without finding common mice, field-mice, and meadow-mice there by the dozen. If I owned a field that was ravaged by these rodents, I should lose no time in planting a few stumps there to serve as perches and watch-towers for buzzards in their patient hunt for their favorite game.“There is another variety of buzzard, the hawk-buzzard, that does us good service in its fondness for larvæ, caterpillars, and insects generally, particularly wasps.”[151]“What, those wasps that hurt so when they sting?” asked Emile.“Yes, my boy; this buzzard feasts on the wasps whose sting is so painful to us; it swallows them without a thought of their sting, just as the hedgehog devours the viper and never worries about its venomous fangs. The bird attacks their nests with its beak and pulls out the nymphs from their cells, carrying them, fat and tender, to its little ones.Rough-legged BuzzardRough-legged Buzzard“This buzzard is a somewhat smaller bird than the common buzzard. Its back is brown, its throat light yellow with brown stripes, and its breast and stomach white sprinkled with dark heart-shaped spots. The tail is crossed by three wide dark bands, the beak is black, and, finally, the head of the old male is bluish-gray. The bird nests in woods, in tall trees, and its eggs are rather small, being yellowish-white in color, but with so thick a sprinkling of large brown spots as sometimes almost to hide the color underneath.“The feather-legged buzzard has legs covered with long feathers, as in certain species of pigeons bearing the same qualifying name. It frequents river banks, uncultivated fields, and woods, and lives[152]on field-mice, moles, reptiles, and if need be on insects.Snake-buzzardSnake-buzzard(Also called short-toed eagle)“Here let us bring to a close our talk on birds of prey. I have told you about the more important ones, both diurnal and nocturnal, about their habits, their food, and the services or the harm they do us. It is now for you to add to what these brief talks have taught you, by observing the things that come under your eyes every day. Do not fail to examine with some care the buzzard as you see it perched on a mound and patiently watching for a field-mouse; also the kestrel as it flies screaming around the belfry and pounces, sometimes on a mouse, sometimes on a sparrow; and the kite, too, as it soars on motionless wings in the blue sky. You will get from this sort of study, first, a great deal of pleasure, and, secondly, knowledge that will be highly useful if you ever have a farm or a garden.”“It seems to me,” said Jules, “that you have left out the very commonest of the birds of prey, the crows.”[153]“Crows are not birds of prey,” replied Uncle Paul. “They have not the hooked beak, the clutching claws, or the sharp, curved nails of birds formed for a life of rapine. I will tell you about them to-morrow; or, rather, I will begin with that one of the crow family known as the raven.”[154]
CHAPTER XIXKESTRELS, KITES AND BUZZARDS
Hawk-owl or KestrelHawk-owl or Kestrel“The kestrel belongs to the falcon family, as may be seen from the small, sharp tooth on each side of the tip of the beak. It is rather a handsome bird, about the size of a pigeon, red in color, with black spots, and a white tip to the tail. The beak is blue and the legs are yellow. The kestrel is the most widely scattered bird of prey and the one most often seen near human habitations. Its favorite haunts are old castles, lofty towers, and belfries. One often sees it flying with untiring wing around these buildings, uttering the while a piercing cry,plee, plee, plee! pree, pree, pree!which it sends forth to frighten the sparrows snuggling in holes in the wall, so that it may seize them when they fly out. It carefully plucks the little captured birds before eating them; but it has another kind of prey which gives it less trouble, and that is the mouse, which it enters open barns in order[145]to catch, also the fat and savory field-mouse, which it spies from on high when holding itself motionless in the air in one position with tail and wings gracefully extended. What will it do with its catch? Will it skin the creature for the sake of cleanliness, as it plucks the sparrow? No, the common mouse and the field-mouse are dainty morsels of which the kestrel would be loath to lose a single drop of blood. The rodent is swallowed just as it is, whole if small, piecemeal if large. After digestion the skin and bones are thrown up through the beak in the form of little balls, just as in the case of the owl.KiteKite“The kestrel nests in old towers, abandoned ruins, hollow rocks. Its nest, made of twigs and roots, holds four or five rust-colored eggs marbled with brown.“We will pass now to the kite, which is different from all other birds of prey, with its broad and forked tail, its very long wings, its rather slender claws, and its very small beak, a beak not at all in keeping with the bird’s size, which exceeds that of the falcon. This beak makes the bird cowardly to excess, frightened by the slightest danger, put to flight by a mere crow.[146]“If pressed by hunger, however, the kite will venture into the neighborhood of pigeon-cotes and poultry-yards in order to seize young pigeons and little chickens. Fortunately, the hen, if she has time to gather her brood under her wings, can scare the invader away by simply showing her anger. For want of poultry, the kite, which is hated by thrifty country people, attacks reptiles, rats, field-mice, and meadow-mice; and if it can get nothing else it will content itself with carrion, such as dead sheep and spoiled fish.“The kite’s extended wings measure more than a meter and a half from tip to tip, and its flight presents a fine spectacle. When the bird sweeps in wide circles through the upper atmosphere, it is as if it were swimming, gliding without the least apparent exertion. Then all at once it stops in its flight and remains suspended in one position for a quarter of an hour at a stretch, held there by an invisible movement of the wings.“The kite is of a deep red hue on the back and rust-colored on the breast and stomach, with a whitish head and the large wing-feathers black. Its cry resembles a cat’s mewing. It builds its nest in tall trees or, still oftener, in the hollows of rocks. Its eggs, commonly three in number, are white shading into dingy yellow and speckled with a few irregular brown spots.“The birds known as harriers have a small semicircular collar of fine thick feathers projecting from each side of the face and reaching from beak to[147]ear, much like the ring around the hornless owl’s eyes. In the contour of the breast, in the long legs and wings, and in the still longer tail, they have something of the falcon’s appearance and bearing; while in their large head and in the little collar around the face they are not unlike the nocturnal birds of prey. Harriers frequent marshes and the banks of stagnant bodies of water, where they lie concealed among the rushes in order to seize any small rodents, reptiles, or insects that may come within their reach. The farmer has no complaint to bring against them, as they show proper respect for his little pigeons, chickens, and ducklings. Indeed, they are welcome visitors on account of their strong liking for field-mice. Unfortunately, the hunter accuses them of killing game, especially water-fowl, hares, and rabbits.“In this connection it is to be noted that the weasel, a small carnivorous quadruped with a thirst for blood, is wont to make its way into warrens in quest of young hares and rabbits, in order to suck their blood, after which the dead bodies are left behind some bush. These murderous operations do not escape the harrier’s vigilance. In its leisurely flights it keeps a sharp eye on the surroundings of all warrens in the woods, for the purpose of carrying off any dead bodies and feasting on the weasel’s leavings. That it may occasionally be at fault and mistake a live rabbit for a dead one, I should not dare deny; but after all I forgive it willingly enough, and in consideration of its war on field-mice I should[148]be inclined to bestow upon it the honorable title of farmer’s helper.“If we may feel some uncertainty about harriers, there is no such doubt concerning buzzards. In them we certainly have very valuable helpers, large eaters of field-mice and meadow-mice, and great destroyers of moles, those tireless burrowers whose numbers must be kept within strict limits. Buzzards have a short, wide beak, curving downward from the base; wings very long, but not pointed, reaching almost to the tip of the tail; strong legs, and the space between the eyes and nostrils bristling with hairs.“Buzzards are fond of repose and phlegmatic by nature; or it might be more accurate to say that they are endowed with a remarkable capacity for patient and motionless waiting, a gift very necessary for the successful hunting of the field-mouse, which must be watched for by the hour at the mouth of its burrow. For half a day at a time, if need be, the buzzard lies in wait without making the least movement or giving the slightest sign of impatience. One would take it to be asleep. Then, all of a sudden, the bird falls to hacking the soil with its beak and tearing the turf with its powerful claws. A disemboweled mole is brought to light, or perhaps a field-mouse is the prize, and in either event the victim is no sooner caught than swallowed.“Now do you know what reputation the buzzard has won by this habit of long and motionless waiting so indispensable in the quest of game with the acuteness of hearing characteristic of the mole and of[149]rodents? The reputation of stupidity. We say of a person of limited intelligence that he is as stupid as a buzzard. Here again is an instance of that wrong-headedness which makes us think little of so many of our helpers and glorify those that prey upon us. Stupidity is the name we give to the buzzard’s peculiarities, and for no better reason than that the bird spares our poultry-yards and rids us of troublesome rodents; whereas we speak of the eagle, which steals our lambs, and of the falcon, plunderer of chicken-coops, as courageous, noble, and splendid.“The common buzzard is a large brown bird with a whitish throat, stomach-feathers marked with little lines alternately brown and white, and tail crossed by nine or ten dark stripes. Its beak is whitish at the base and black at the tip, its eyes and legs yellow. This species nests in tall trees, the nest being made of interwoven twigs and lined with wool and hair. It lays but three eggs at most, which are whitish and irregularly sprinkled with dingy yellow spots. It is the common buzzard especially that has won the reputation of stupidity with its leisurely flying and its patience in watching for prey. It usually watches on some mound of earth. Observers who have studied its habits say that sixteen is about the number of mice it commonly eats in one day, which makes nearly six thousand a year.”“That’s the kind of bird we should like to have[150]about our houses if we could only tame it,” remarked Jules.“There is nothing to prevent our trying it,” his uncle rejoined. “The buzzard’s disposition is good enough. Other observers, who have studied its hunting of field-mice, estimate that it eats nearly four thousand of these in one year. From this number you can form some idea of the multitude of little rodents a whole flock of buzzards would be able to destroy. But we must not give the bird too much praise. I know that it does not hesitate, when occasion offers, to seize and carry off a wounded young hare; and I also know that when the snow is on the ground and the buzzard is pressed by hunger, it will pounce upon any stray chicken that may have got out of the poultry-yard. But what are these few acts of theft when compared with the thousands of rodents of all kinds that it clears away from our fields? Whatever the season of the year, one cannot open a buzzard’s crop without finding common mice, field-mice, and meadow-mice there by the dozen. If I owned a field that was ravaged by these rodents, I should lose no time in planting a few stumps there to serve as perches and watch-towers for buzzards in their patient hunt for their favorite game.“There is another variety of buzzard, the hawk-buzzard, that does us good service in its fondness for larvæ, caterpillars, and insects generally, particularly wasps.”[151]“What, those wasps that hurt so when they sting?” asked Emile.“Yes, my boy; this buzzard feasts on the wasps whose sting is so painful to us; it swallows them without a thought of their sting, just as the hedgehog devours the viper and never worries about its venomous fangs. The bird attacks their nests with its beak and pulls out the nymphs from their cells, carrying them, fat and tender, to its little ones.Rough-legged BuzzardRough-legged Buzzard“This buzzard is a somewhat smaller bird than the common buzzard. Its back is brown, its throat light yellow with brown stripes, and its breast and stomach white sprinkled with dark heart-shaped spots. The tail is crossed by three wide dark bands, the beak is black, and, finally, the head of the old male is bluish-gray. The bird nests in woods, in tall trees, and its eggs are rather small, being yellowish-white in color, but with so thick a sprinkling of large brown spots as sometimes almost to hide the color underneath.“The feather-legged buzzard has legs covered with long feathers, as in certain species of pigeons bearing the same qualifying name. It frequents river banks, uncultivated fields, and woods, and lives[152]on field-mice, moles, reptiles, and if need be on insects.Snake-buzzardSnake-buzzard(Also called short-toed eagle)“Here let us bring to a close our talk on birds of prey. I have told you about the more important ones, both diurnal and nocturnal, about their habits, their food, and the services or the harm they do us. It is now for you to add to what these brief talks have taught you, by observing the things that come under your eyes every day. Do not fail to examine with some care the buzzard as you see it perched on a mound and patiently watching for a field-mouse; also the kestrel as it flies screaming around the belfry and pounces, sometimes on a mouse, sometimes on a sparrow; and the kite, too, as it soars on motionless wings in the blue sky. You will get from this sort of study, first, a great deal of pleasure, and, secondly, knowledge that will be highly useful if you ever have a farm or a garden.”“It seems to me,” said Jules, “that you have left out the very commonest of the birds of prey, the crows.”[153]“Crows are not birds of prey,” replied Uncle Paul. “They have not the hooked beak, the clutching claws, or the sharp, curved nails of birds formed for a life of rapine. I will tell you about them to-morrow; or, rather, I will begin with that one of the crow family known as the raven.”[154]
Hawk-owl or KestrelHawk-owl or Kestrel
Hawk-owl or Kestrel
“The kestrel belongs to the falcon family, as may be seen from the small, sharp tooth on each side of the tip of the beak. It is rather a handsome bird, about the size of a pigeon, red in color, with black spots, and a white tip to the tail. The beak is blue and the legs are yellow. The kestrel is the most widely scattered bird of prey and the one most often seen near human habitations. Its favorite haunts are old castles, lofty towers, and belfries. One often sees it flying with untiring wing around these buildings, uttering the while a piercing cry,plee, plee, plee! pree, pree, pree!which it sends forth to frighten the sparrows snuggling in holes in the wall, so that it may seize them when they fly out. It carefully plucks the little captured birds before eating them; but it has another kind of prey which gives it less trouble, and that is the mouse, which it enters open barns in order[145]to catch, also the fat and savory field-mouse, which it spies from on high when holding itself motionless in the air in one position with tail and wings gracefully extended. What will it do with its catch? Will it skin the creature for the sake of cleanliness, as it plucks the sparrow? No, the common mouse and the field-mouse are dainty morsels of which the kestrel would be loath to lose a single drop of blood. The rodent is swallowed just as it is, whole if small, piecemeal if large. After digestion the skin and bones are thrown up through the beak in the form of little balls, just as in the case of the owl.
KiteKite
Kite
“The kestrel nests in old towers, abandoned ruins, hollow rocks. Its nest, made of twigs and roots, holds four or five rust-colored eggs marbled with brown.
“We will pass now to the kite, which is different from all other birds of prey, with its broad and forked tail, its very long wings, its rather slender claws, and its very small beak, a beak not at all in keeping with the bird’s size, which exceeds that of the falcon. This beak makes the bird cowardly to excess, frightened by the slightest danger, put to flight by a mere crow.[146]
“If pressed by hunger, however, the kite will venture into the neighborhood of pigeon-cotes and poultry-yards in order to seize young pigeons and little chickens. Fortunately, the hen, if she has time to gather her brood under her wings, can scare the invader away by simply showing her anger. For want of poultry, the kite, which is hated by thrifty country people, attacks reptiles, rats, field-mice, and meadow-mice; and if it can get nothing else it will content itself with carrion, such as dead sheep and spoiled fish.
“The kite’s extended wings measure more than a meter and a half from tip to tip, and its flight presents a fine spectacle. When the bird sweeps in wide circles through the upper atmosphere, it is as if it were swimming, gliding without the least apparent exertion. Then all at once it stops in its flight and remains suspended in one position for a quarter of an hour at a stretch, held there by an invisible movement of the wings.
“The kite is of a deep red hue on the back and rust-colored on the breast and stomach, with a whitish head and the large wing-feathers black. Its cry resembles a cat’s mewing. It builds its nest in tall trees or, still oftener, in the hollows of rocks. Its eggs, commonly three in number, are white shading into dingy yellow and speckled with a few irregular brown spots.
“The birds known as harriers have a small semicircular collar of fine thick feathers projecting from each side of the face and reaching from beak to[147]ear, much like the ring around the hornless owl’s eyes. In the contour of the breast, in the long legs and wings, and in the still longer tail, they have something of the falcon’s appearance and bearing; while in their large head and in the little collar around the face they are not unlike the nocturnal birds of prey. Harriers frequent marshes and the banks of stagnant bodies of water, where they lie concealed among the rushes in order to seize any small rodents, reptiles, or insects that may come within their reach. The farmer has no complaint to bring against them, as they show proper respect for his little pigeons, chickens, and ducklings. Indeed, they are welcome visitors on account of their strong liking for field-mice. Unfortunately, the hunter accuses them of killing game, especially water-fowl, hares, and rabbits.
“In this connection it is to be noted that the weasel, a small carnivorous quadruped with a thirst for blood, is wont to make its way into warrens in quest of young hares and rabbits, in order to suck their blood, after which the dead bodies are left behind some bush. These murderous operations do not escape the harrier’s vigilance. In its leisurely flights it keeps a sharp eye on the surroundings of all warrens in the woods, for the purpose of carrying off any dead bodies and feasting on the weasel’s leavings. That it may occasionally be at fault and mistake a live rabbit for a dead one, I should not dare deny; but after all I forgive it willingly enough, and in consideration of its war on field-mice I should[148]be inclined to bestow upon it the honorable title of farmer’s helper.
“If we may feel some uncertainty about harriers, there is no such doubt concerning buzzards. In them we certainly have very valuable helpers, large eaters of field-mice and meadow-mice, and great destroyers of moles, those tireless burrowers whose numbers must be kept within strict limits. Buzzards have a short, wide beak, curving downward from the base; wings very long, but not pointed, reaching almost to the tip of the tail; strong legs, and the space between the eyes and nostrils bristling with hairs.
“Buzzards are fond of repose and phlegmatic by nature; or it might be more accurate to say that they are endowed with a remarkable capacity for patient and motionless waiting, a gift very necessary for the successful hunting of the field-mouse, which must be watched for by the hour at the mouth of its burrow. For half a day at a time, if need be, the buzzard lies in wait without making the least movement or giving the slightest sign of impatience. One would take it to be asleep. Then, all of a sudden, the bird falls to hacking the soil with its beak and tearing the turf with its powerful claws. A disemboweled mole is brought to light, or perhaps a field-mouse is the prize, and in either event the victim is no sooner caught than swallowed.
“Now do you know what reputation the buzzard has won by this habit of long and motionless waiting so indispensable in the quest of game with the acuteness of hearing characteristic of the mole and of[149]rodents? The reputation of stupidity. We say of a person of limited intelligence that he is as stupid as a buzzard. Here again is an instance of that wrong-headedness which makes us think little of so many of our helpers and glorify those that prey upon us. Stupidity is the name we give to the buzzard’s peculiarities, and for no better reason than that the bird spares our poultry-yards and rids us of troublesome rodents; whereas we speak of the eagle, which steals our lambs, and of the falcon, plunderer of chicken-coops, as courageous, noble, and splendid.
“The common buzzard is a large brown bird with a whitish throat, stomach-feathers marked with little lines alternately brown and white, and tail crossed by nine or ten dark stripes. Its beak is whitish at the base and black at the tip, its eyes and legs yellow. This species nests in tall trees, the nest being made of interwoven twigs and lined with wool and hair. It lays but three eggs at most, which are whitish and irregularly sprinkled with dingy yellow spots. It is the common buzzard especially that has won the reputation of stupidity with its leisurely flying and its patience in watching for prey. It usually watches on some mound of earth. Observers who have studied its habits say that sixteen is about the number of mice it commonly eats in one day, which makes nearly six thousand a year.”
“That’s the kind of bird we should like to have[150]about our houses if we could only tame it,” remarked Jules.
“There is nothing to prevent our trying it,” his uncle rejoined. “The buzzard’s disposition is good enough. Other observers, who have studied its hunting of field-mice, estimate that it eats nearly four thousand of these in one year. From this number you can form some idea of the multitude of little rodents a whole flock of buzzards would be able to destroy. But we must not give the bird too much praise. I know that it does not hesitate, when occasion offers, to seize and carry off a wounded young hare; and I also know that when the snow is on the ground and the buzzard is pressed by hunger, it will pounce upon any stray chicken that may have got out of the poultry-yard. But what are these few acts of theft when compared with the thousands of rodents of all kinds that it clears away from our fields? Whatever the season of the year, one cannot open a buzzard’s crop without finding common mice, field-mice, and meadow-mice there by the dozen. If I owned a field that was ravaged by these rodents, I should lose no time in planting a few stumps there to serve as perches and watch-towers for buzzards in their patient hunt for their favorite game.
“There is another variety of buzzard, the hawk-buzzard, that does us good service in its fondness for larvæ, caterpillars, and insects generally, particularly wasps.”[151]
“What, those wasps that hurt so when they sting?” asked Emile.
“Yes, my boy; this buzzard feasts on the wasps whose sting is so painful to us; it swallows them without a thought of their sting, just as the hedgehog devours the viper and never worries about its venomous fangs. The bird attacks their nests with its beak and pulls out the nymphs from their cells, carrying them, fat and tender, to its little ones.
Rough-legged BuzzardRough-legged Buzzard
Rough-legged Buzzard
“This buzzard is a somewhat smaller bird than the common buzzard. Its back is brown, its throat light yellow with brown stripes, and its breast and stomach white sprinkled with dark heart-shaped spots. The tail is crossed by three wide dark bands, the beak is black, and, finally, the head of the old male is bluish-gray. The bird nests in woods, in tall trees, and its eggs are rather small, being yellowish-white in color, but with so thick a sprinkling of large brown spots as sometimes almost to hide the color underneath.
“The feather-legged buzzard has legs covered with long feathers, as in certain species of pigeons bearing the same qualifying name. It frequents river banks, uncultivated fields, and woods, and lives[152]on field-mice, moles, reptiles, and if need be on insects.
Snake-buzzardSnake-buzzard(Also called short-toed eagle)
Snake-buzzard
(Also called short-toed eagle)
“Here let us bring to a close our talk on birds of prey. I have told you about the more important ones, both diurnal and nocturnal, about their habits, their food, and the services or the harm they do us. It is now for you to add to what these brief talks have taught you, by observing the things that come under your eyes every day. Do not fail to examine with some care the buzzard as you see it perched on a mound and patiently watching for a field-mouse; also the kestrel as it flies screaming around the belfry and pounces, sometimes on a mouse, sometimes on a sparrow; and the kite, too, as it soars on motionless wings in the blue sky. You will get from this sort of study, first, a great deal of pleasure, and, secondly, knowledge that will be highly useful if you ever have a farm or a garden.”
“It seems to me,” said Jules, “that you have left out the very commonest of the birds of prey, the crows.”[153]
“Crows are not birds of prey,” replied Uncle Paul. “They have not the hooked beak, the clutching claws, or the sharp, curved nails of birds formed for a life of rapine. I will tell you about them to-morrow; or, rather, I will begin with that one of the crow family known as the raven.”[154]