THE OWLS. 203 



this owl, Dr. C. Hart Merriam ' states that he has known one 

 to decapitate three turkeys and several hens in a single night, 

 leaving the bodies fit for the table. 



It occasionally catches fish. Of one hundred and twenty- 

 seven stomachs of the great horned owl that were examined 

 at the Department of Agriculture, thirty-one contained 

 poultry or game-birds ; eight, other birds ; thirteen, mice ; 

 sixty-five, other mammals ; one, a scorpion ; one, fish ; ten, 

 insects ; and seventeen were empty. 



In tlie arctic regions of North America the beautiful Snowy 

 Owl is a rather common species. It is one of the largest 

 members of its family, often being more than two feet long. 

 In winter it is occasionally found in the Northern States, 

 especially in New England, but during summer it remains in 

 the far North. 



The summer food of this bird consists very largely of the 

 small rodents known as lemmings, which abound in most 

 arctic regions. These and related rodents seem to be the fa- 

 vorite food except in winter, when other animals, including 

 the ptarmigan and arctic hare, are eaten. During its winter 

 visits to southern Canada and the Northern United States, it 

 lives upon rabbits, rats, mice, and various birds. It is expert 

 in catching fish, which form a favorite article of food. 



The snowy owl is so rare in our country that it has little 

 economic importance, but it probably deserves to be left un- 

 molested when it visits us. 



The Burrowing Owl is found in some parts of Florida, but 

 is best known on the Great Plains, where it is abundant, 

 living in prairie-dog towns and the burrows of ground- 

 squirrels. Its food is varied, but consists chiefly of rodents, 

 young rabbits and prairie-dogs, chipmunks, gophers, mice, 

 and shrews. It also feeds on grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, 

 scorpions, and centipedes. In localities where prairie-dogs 



1 Birds of Connecticut, 1877, p. 97. 



