164 



THE OOLOGIST 



CROWS 



Somebody, of late, has written in 

 the columns of The Oologist about the 

 retaliation of Hawks against maraud- 

 ing Crows. All this recalls vividly to 

 my mind an occurrence that held, fcr 

 me, a deal of pathos: 



A pair of Western Horned Owls, far 

 north in the Valley of the Red River 

 of the North, became objects of in- 

 tense interest with me. Their eggs 

 were always infertile. Their third 

 set, one year, 1 had left hoping they 

 might hatch. (1 having taken the 

 former two sets after they had been 

 sat upon about a month in each case.) 

 This ran the nesting into June. The 

 third nest was in a rotten topped li:i- 

 den tree, on the very brink of t'lo 

 South Pork. In order to make it co:r_- 

 fortable, the female Owl had gnav/ed 

 away a section of tough bark and 

 wood at one side of the not over-large 

 cavity. Approaching the place, one 

 late day in early June, I found a 

 mighty caw-cuss in progress. Cree" 

 ing slowly to the immediate vici lity 

 of the nesting spot. 1 watched a hi;Th- 

 ly moving spectacle. 



The Crows, in relays, were dartiii :, 

 in impotent wrath at the very head o' 

 the mother Owl. Bracing herself, s'e 

 snapped her beak at them, the very 

 image of protective combativeness. 

 When a Crow would come nearer than 

 usual, the Owl repeatedly arose to the 

 smiting, fairly leaving her perch there- 

 for. Nearer and still more near I 

 crept, until only a few feet away. Too 

 near it proved, for su(hlenly the Owl 

 swept outward and downward fron\ 

 her perch on a thick-leaved aspen. 

 And the assembly dissolved to re- 

 assemble in the distanc-e. 



P. B. Peabody, 

 Blue Rapids, Kans. 



OWL FOOD 



Along the ocean front from Miami 

 Beach northward for a distance of 

 about seven miles, is a fine rock and 

 oil surfaced road. As a rule it is 

 about fifteen feet back from the sandy 

 beach and extreme high tide. Be- 

 tween the road bed and the sandy 

 beach is a heavy growth of rank 

 grass, some bushes, cacti, and a rank 

 growth of beautiful tall sea oat. On 

 the west side of the roadway, and on 

 over to the bay, we find overgrown 

 with the sea grape, cacti, buttonwood 

 and mangrove. 



This last named area is the home of 

 several species of mice, marsh rabbit, 

 cotton tail, and the wood and water 

 rats. Often during the day time while 

 traveling this stretch of road, I have 

 seen all the above mentioned mam- 

 mals cross the road toward the beacb 



At night, however, there must be a 

 regular migration of mammals across 

 the road to feed on the wild oats. 



Traveling up this stretch of road- 

 way during the warm summer nights, 

 I have in one trip, seen with the aid 

 of my spotlight, and by flashing on my 

 bright headlights quickly, as many as 

 twenty Florida Screech Owls (Otus 

 asio floridanus) and Florida Burrow- 

 ing Owls (Speotyto-c-floridanus) sit- 

 ting in the roadway catching these 

 mammals that pass back and forth 

 across this open stretch. 



These Owls have evidently soon 

 learned of an easy place to capture 

 their food. 



I now wonder why the larger Owls 

 do not resort to the country highways 

 for an easy living, for one always sees 

 numerous rabbits when traveling 

 nights. 



Harold H. Bailey, 

 Miami Beach, Fla. 

 Oct. 15, 1922. 



