Teacher's Leaflet. 535 



insects, salamanders, fish, frogs, crawfish, small birds and especially of 

 mice, which it destroys in great numbers. In the warm weather in winter 

 it stores in its winter quarters mice, moles, or other creatures, which 

 it may be able to get, so as to have something to eat during the severe 

 weather. It can be counted as a special friend of the farmer because of 

 its destruction of mice. 



LESSON CI. 



HOW THE OWLS BENEFIT THE FARMER. 



Purpose. — To inform the pupils concerning the owls common in our 

 State and their economic value. 



We have the Screech Owl common everywhere. The Barred or 

 Hoot Owl and the Great Horned Owl frequent our larger forests and 

 are found common in the Adirondacks. The Great Snowy Owl and the 

 Saw-whet or Acadian Owl make us winter visits, occasionally coming 

 down from the north. The Short-eared Owl is rare and the Long-eared 

 is uncommon ; the Barn Owl is occasionally found in the southern part 

 of the State. 



The owls have queer feeding habits ; they swallow their prey as 

 nearly whole as possible and in the stomach the digestible portions are 

 utilized, and the hair, bones and other indigestible material are gathered 

 into pellets, which are thrown out of the mouth. The bones in these 

 pellets have revealed to the biologist just the- kind of food the owls 

 subsist upon. The Hoot Owl frequently attacks the larger birds and 

 poultry, but it also feeds upon mice, rats, squirrels, frogs and fish. The 

 Great Horned Owl is especially a depredator among poultry. This is 

 the owl that gives a bad reputation to the others among farmers. The 

 Short-eared Owl does not live in the woods, and it also hunts by day ; 

 it haunts marshes or grassy meadows where it hunts for mice and it 

 makes its nest of hay and sticks on the ground instead of in trees. The 

 Long-eared Owl or sometimes called the Cat Owl has an interesting way 

 when disturbed of lifting up the tufts of feathers on the head; these look 

 like ears, although they are not. These owls live mostly upon field mice, 

 although they occasionally take small birds. They build their nests in 

 trees, using deserted crow nests for the purpose. In the western states 

 there is a most interesting species living in the burrows of the prairie 

 dogs and rattlesnakes. They do not live with the prairie dogs, but take 

 possession of their deserted holes. They have a funny way of bowing 

 when they come up to the surface of the ground, which makes them seem 

 very polite. 



References. — " Birds That Hunt and Are Hunted," pp. 335-352. 

 " Guide to the Birds of New England," Hoffman. " Birds of Eastern 



