THE SCREECH OWL 
WIE screech owl is found throughout the 
whole of the United States and the south- 
ern part of Canada. It is one of the 
smaller owls, being about eight inches in length, 
with conspicuous ear tufts; its wings and tail are 
barred and its legs feathered. The adult bird may 
be gray or brownish red. This variation in color, or 
dichromatism as it is called, is well marked, and for 
a long time it was supposed to have something to do 
with the sex or age of the bird, some scientists even 
going so far as to class the two as different species. 
In reality it has to do with none of these, although 
just why it occurs has not been satisfactorily answered. 
This dichromatism occurs very frequently among the 
squirrels, and it is not uncommon in the insect world. 
The screech owl is one of our most beneficial owls, 
for it feeds principally upon mice, reptiles, and insects, 
but sometimes—upon small birds. The greatest good 
is done in the destruction of field-mice, which do 
so much damage to the grass roots, to the grain both 
when stacked and in the shock, and to young fruit- 
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