176 BULLETIN 17 0, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



they had been eaten by owls; one Hermit Thrush, one Sora, three Yellow-bellied 

 Sapsuckers, one Slate-colored Junco, one White-crowned Sparrow, and eighteen 

 others, of which there were not enough feathers left to identify the species. 



During April and the early part of May of the following spring, the owls were 

 again plentiful, preying on the hosts of migrants, that rested along the sandbar, 

 after crossing Lake Ontario. With one exception all the castings contained the 

 bones and feathers of small birds. This meadow was swarming with voles, but 

 only one pellet, of the many examined was composed of the fur and bones of 

 voles. 



Ivan R. Tomkins sums up and draws interesting conclusions on 

 the findings of pellets collected near Savannah, Ga., and examined 

 by the Biological Survey. He says: "The 50 pellets collected during 

 January and February contained remains of 34 birds, of 14 identifiable 

 species, and 54 mammals, of two or more species. The 18 pellets 

 collected m the same places during late February and March con- 

 tained remains of 4 birds and 45 house mice. Several points of 

 interest are: The unusual proportion of birds in the first lot (there 

 was also an abundance of birds during the last period, but mammals 

 seem to be the choice food then) and the presence of such species as 

 fox and white-throated sparrows, woodpecker, flicker, and kinglets, 

 all species preferring thickets or woods, coupled with the absence of 

 Savannah and song sparrows, these last very abundant in the precise 

 locality most inhabited by the house mice and rats." 



Behavior. — Owing to its diurnal habits and its love of open places 

 the short-eared owl is one of the owls most frequently seen by man. 

 It avoids forested regions, although in its extensive migrations it 

 passes over them as well as over the sea and has therefore been 

 observed on rare occasions in the midst of a forest or many miles at 

 sea. William A. Bryan (1903) reported one that was seen to circle 

 down from a great height and alight on one of the yards of a vessel 

 bound for the Hawaiian Islands and G80 miles from Puget Sound. 

 This was in October 1902. In the same month, in 1900, another was 

 observed some 500 miles from these oceanic islands. 



In hunting its prey the short-eared owl adopts the same habits as 

 the harrier, or marsh hawk, and may often be seen circling close to 

 the ground or flying over it, sometimes gliding, sometimes flapping 

 and dropping down on its victims with down-stretched feet. Occasion- 

 ally it sustains itself by hovering over one spot before it pounces. 

 When the wind is blowing strongly, it takes advantage of the up- 

 currents over rolling country and especially among sand dunes, 

 where it may be seen gliding into the wind with great speed and skill. 

 At times it may be seen sailing lightly about at a height of 20 or even 

 30 yards, turning its round head now this way now that and closely 

 scanning the ground. On some occasions it alights on the ground 

 and watches for its rodent prey to appear. II. H. Lawrence (1892) 

 reports that in the salt marshes near South Bend, Wash., "they sat 



