Sometimes in winter I make my home near a colony of English Sparrows and eat them all for a change, just to see how it feels to be of some use to House People; but in spite of this I am a bold, bad bird, and as every one knows it I may as well say that I take pride in my reputation, and do not intend to reform!" [Illustration: Sharp-Shinned Hawk.] "Guilty!" said the Eagle solemnly.

"Red-shouldered Hawk next." The Red-shouldered Hawk held up his head proudly and returned the Eagle's gaze without flinching.

He was a fine muscular bird, standing a little under two feet high, with deep rusty-red shoulders and reddish-brown back, while his head, neck, and under parts were spotted and cross-barred with rusty and white.

He had a black tail crossed by half a dozen white bars.
[Illustration: Red-Shouldered Hawk.] "I am a Hawk of eastern North America, living from the great plains to the Atlantic coast, going northward to the British lands and southward to the warm-watered Gulf of Mexico.

I am often called Hen Hawk by those who speak without thinking, but in truth I am not much of a bird-thief, for a good reason.