FOREST BIRDS 147 



teen Acadian Owls had all been feasting on mice, 

 while of two hundred and twelve Screech Owls' 

 stomachs, ninety-one contained mice and one hundred 

 insects. Unlike Hawks, Owls do not as a rule hold 

 their prey in their claws and tear it into pieces with 

 their bills before eating it; but, if it is not too large, 

 they swallow it entire. By the processes of diges- 

 tion the bones and hair are formed into oblong 

 wads which are ejected at the mouth. 



Hundreds of these matted pellets may sometimes 

 be found on the ground beneath some dense ever- 

 green in which an Owl dozes away the daylight. 

 From them we may not only learn of an Owl's roost- 

 ing-place, but can tell far more certainly than by 

 an examination of his stomach, the nature of his 

 food. Here we have not the record of one meal, 

 but of hundreds of meals. Only an expert can 

 identify for us all the little bones which we shall find 

 closely embedded in the hair, but to one familiar 

 with the anatomy of animals the more important 

 ones can be distinguished as readily as we could 

 name the letters of the alphabet. Placed together 

 they spell the story of a night's hunting. The white- 

 footed, wood, or deer mouse, the short-tailed 

 meadow mouse, the jumping mouse and tiny shrews 

 may all have been on the bill of fare. 



No less than four hundred and fifty-four of these 



