242 FAMILY STRIGID^ — THE OWLS. 



in Ohio would be apt to be observed. It cannot, therefore, 

 be claimed as belonging to our iauna. 



It is doubtful if the extermination of our Hawks would 

 result in any very great benefit to farmers, as nearly all 

 the larger species feed indiscriminately on both useful and 

 injurious animals; and as the latter are generally more 

 numerous in the haunts of the Hawks than the former, 

 their destruction is a positive benefit. Those species that, 

 like the Red Tailed Hawk, destroy chickens, also kill 

 squirrels and the other small quadrupeds that infest the 

 grain fields and barns. In this manner the undue increase 

 Of squirrels, rats, mice, &c., is checked. Nature is nicely 

 balanced in all her relations, and man's interference often 

 does more harm than good. It becomes necessary to weigh 

 judiciously the ultimate consequences of our actions, or we 

 may find evil effects when. good only were expected. 



III. Family Strigidj?. — The Ovds- 



There is no better defined family among birds than the 

 one containing the various species of Owls. The peculi- 

 arity of appearance, structure and habits, separate them 

 distinctly from all other birds, and no one will, under any 

 circumstances, mistake a specimen of any given species 

 for anything else than an Owl. The great majority of the 

 species are night fliers; some prefer the twilight, and a few 

 pursue their pre}'^ during the day, but even the latter prefer 

 cloudy weather and the deep wood to the full blaze of the 

 sunshine and the open field. 



In early times the Owl was considered by the ignorant 

 and even by some pretenders to learning, as a bird of ill 

 omen. Its associates were thought to be ghosts and goblins. 

 It held nightly converse with unholy things, and its cry 



