Birds ix Relation to Agriculture in New York State 1787 



.^ 



The number of mice destroyed by a single one of these birds will speak 

 for itself to any one who will search the ground beneath a tree where one 

 of the birds is known to roost habitually, for the owls swallow their prey 

 whole when it is not too large, and later throw up the bones, hair, and 

 other indigestible parts in the form of pellets. By soaking these in water 

 the skulls of several mice can usually be teased out of every pellet, speak- 

 ing strongly for the value of these birds and the need of protecting them . 



There are sLx species of owls found regularly throughout New York State, 

 two others occasionally, 

 and one more very 

 rarely. The great hom- 

 ed and the barred owl 

 (colored plate) are the 

 largest, being nearly 

 two feet in length and 

 thus exceeding the crow 

 in size; the long-eared 

 and the short-eared owl 

 arc next in size, being 

 about fifteen inches in 

 length; and the screech 

 owl and the saw-whet 

 owl are the smallest, 

 being less than ten 

 inches in length. The 

 great horned, long- 

 eared, and screech owls 

 have tufts of feathers 

 on their heads, resem- 

 bling horns. These are 



absent from the barred owl and the saw-whet owl. The great homed 

 owl, which is the only one that should ever be killed, is easily distinguished 

 by its large size, conspicuous " horns," and white throat patch. As many 

 indi\dduals never visit the poultry yard and are of considerable value 

 in reducing the nimiber of obnoxious rodents, even this species should 

 not be killed unless it takes up its abode near the poultry yard. The 

 great homed owl nests in late February or early March, laying two or 

 three white eggs in a hollow tree or in an old crow's nest. 



Fig. 18. 



Nest and eggs of great horned oiul, a rat and 

 a bi/d in storage 



The shrikes, or butcher birds 



The shrikes resemble the hawks only in the form of the bill, which 

 has become hooked for tearing flesh. They are still primarily insectivorous 



