i66 Bird - Lore 



By far the larger majority of the birds of our Western Hemisphere are 

 migratory. That is, they move southward upon the approach of winter and 

 return to their northern homes when warm days of spring again visit the land. 

 The Great Horned Owl does not belong to this class. Although it may wander 

 some in quest of food, and when woodlands are cut away by the advance of 

 agriculture it will move on to other regions, these shiftings from one feeding- 

 ground to another would hardly be classed as migratory movements. Wherever 

 found, therefore, this Owl may be regarded as a resident throughout the year. 



In the zoological gardens it is very usual to find a cage containing several 

 of these large, feathered denizens of the woodlands. The bird is so very striking 

 in its appearance and its plumage is so handsome that when one is taken alive 

 its captor often feels that it should be exhibited for the interest and admiration 

 of others. In captivity many of our native birds, especially when taken young, 

 in time become quite tame and even friendly. This is true of many of the birds 

 of prey, as, for example, the Condor and some of the large Hawks. The Great 

 Horned Owl, however, scorns all friendly advances and its fierce, untamed 

 nature is unsubdued even though the same captor may bring it food daily over 

 a period of months and even years. Upon the near approach of a human 

 intruder the Great Homed Owl will pop its bill and show fierce resentment. 

 In a savage manner it will at times fly at the person who enters its cage and 

 has even been known to strike the hat and head of a man who came only for 

 the purpose of administering to the Owl's need for food. 



The Great Horned Owl is widely distributed throughout the North Ameri- 

 can continent, and, as is usually the case with a bird of such wide distribution, 

 the species is represented by many climatic varieties. The casual observer 

 might regard the Great Horned Owl of northern Canada and the one found in 

 South Florida or Mexico as being identical, but a close examination would show 

 a difference in the shading of the plumage or perhaps the size of the bird. There 

 is not space here to give the range of all the different subspecies, but they may 

 at least be named, and are as follows: Great Horned Owl, common in eastern 

 North America. Then there are the Western Horned Owl, Arctic Horned Owl, 

 Pacific Horned Owl, Dusky Horned Owl, Dwarf Horned Owl, Labrador 

 Horned Owl, and St. Michael Horned Owl — eight varieties in all. 



