ECONOMIC VALUE OF BIRDS TO THE STATE. 31 



Great Horned Owl {Bubo virginianus). — While this large Owl feeds on both 

 poultry and game birds it also preys upon mammals, some of which may be 

 injurious. As a rule, however, the bird is so uncommon near civilization, and so 

 quickly disappears with the fall of the forests that its relations to man are at the 

 best indirect. 



Summary of the Contents of I2j Stomachs of the Great Horned Owl. (From Fisher.) 



31 stomachs contained poultry or game birds. 



8 stomachs contained other birds. 

 13 stomachs contained mice. 

 65 stomachs contained other mammals. 



1 stomach contained a scorpion. 

 10 stomachs contained insects. 

 17 stomachs were empty. 



CUCKOOS. Family Cuculidas. 



Cuckoos, of which we have two species, the Yellow-billed and Black-billed, are 

 great destroyers of caterpillars. In Farmers' Bulletin No. 54 of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, Professor Beal writes of them as follows : 



"An examination of thirty-seven stomachs has shown that these Cuckoos 

 are much given to eating caterpillars, and, unlike most birds, do not reject those 

 covered with hair. In fact, Cuckoos eat so many hairy caterpillars that the hairs 

 pierce the inner lining of the stomach and remain there, so that when the stomach 

 is opened and turned inside out, it appears to be lined with a thin coating of fur." 



Black-Billed Cuckoo {Coccyzns erythrophthalmus). — "An examination of the 

 stomachs of sixteen Black-billed Cuckoos, taken during the summer months, showed 

 the remains of 328 caterpillars, eleven beetles, fifteen grasshoppers, sixty-three 

 sawflies, three stink bugs, and four spiders. In all probability more individuals than 

 these were represented, but their remains were too badly broken for recognition. 

 Most of the caterpillars were hairy, and many of them belonged to a genus that 

 lives in colonies and feeds on the leaves of trees, including the apple tree. One 

 stomach was filled with larva: of a caterpillar belonging to the same genus as the 

 tent caterpillar, and possibly to that species. Other larvae were those of large 

 moths, for which the bird seems to have a special fondness. The beetles were for 

 the most part click beetles and weevils, with a few May beetles, and some others. 

 The sawflies were all found in two stomachs, one of which contained no less than 

 sixty in the larval stage." (Beal.) 



