of mankind, but examples are scarce (some owls and hawks). Many birds of prey are classed thus by mistake. Sparrow hawks, for instance, do not eat birds except in rare instances; they feed chiefly upon insects. A sparrow hawk often keeps watch over a field where grasshoppers are plentiful and destroys great numbers of them. When a bird is killed because it is supposed to be injurious, the crop should always be examined, and its contents will often surprise those who are sure it is a harmful bird. The writer once found two frogs, three grasshoppers, and five beetles that had been swallowed by a "chicken hawk" killed by an irate farmer, but no sign of birds having been used for food. Fowls should not be raised in open places, but among trees and bushes, where hawks cannot swoop. Birds which live exclusively upon fish are, of course, opposed to human interests. Pigeons are destructive to grain; eagles feed chiefly upon other birds.
 | An image should appear at this position in the text. To use the entire page scan as a placeholder, edit this page and replace "{{missing image}}" with "{{raw image|First course in biology (IA firstcourseinbio00bailrich).pdf/407}}". Otherwise, if you are able to provide the image then please do so. For guidance, see Wikisource:Image guidelines and Help:Adding images. |  |
Fig. 313.—Road Runner, or chaparral bird (Tex. to Cal.). What order? (Key, p. 177.)
If the birds eat the grapes, do not kill the birds, but plant more grapes. People with two or three fruit trees or a small
