808 liEroKT OF Staie liEoi.oiiisr. 



oiUerlaiuiug. One appears to tell si^ouie joke or do soiiietliing funuy, 

 at wliieli the rest set up a hearty though demoniacal he, he, he, he, hi, 

 hi. lii. hi. ha. ha, ha, ha, and the nneannv company is boisterously 

 hilarious i'or a few moments, Avhen the solilude of the night again 

 rtMgns supreme." (l>irds ol' Illinois, 1, pp. 40l>, 410.) 



Ml-. F. M. Chapman says: "'The usual call is a sonorous •\Vho-\vho- 

 w ho, who-whoo, to whoo-oh.' "" (B. E. N. A., p. 31().) 



Tlu'v hegin mating in February, and some years may lay that 

 month. thi)ugh ii is usually in March. The nest is in the hollow of a 

 tree; or wlien tliat is not convenient, in an abandoned crow's or hawk's 

 nest. 'I'ho liMnale appears to incubate the eggs, which requires from 

 three to i'otir weeks. Unless the eggs are taken, but one brood is 

 raised. 



They ntay be seen abroad on sunless days, and then usually receive 

 mtu'h imtice from crows and other birds, which collect to persecute 

 them. Mr. 11. K. Coale informs me of an unique instance of this. 

 June ir>, 1884. in St^irke County, Indiana, he came upon a Barred Owl 

 in a high tree. It was being attacked by the following birds: Wood 

 Tlirusli. r>lue Jay. (Jnat-eatiher, Oreat Crested Fly-catcher, Red Start 

 and YeUow AVarbler, all calling and flying at it. Mr. H. W. McBride 

 kept a ])air tmtil they were a year old, but they did not breed. 



Ot'casionally the Barred Owl eats a chicken, but this is not common, 

 and perhaps most frequently when snow covers the ground in winter. 

 The examination of the stomachs of these owls, made under the direc- 

 tion of T>Y. C. FTart ]\rerriam, shows that of 109 examined 5 contained 

 poultry or game; 13, other birds: -tG. mice; 18, other mammals; 4, 

 frogs: 1. a lizard; 3, fish; 14. insects; 3, spiders; 9, crawfish, and 30 

 were empty. (Bull. No. 3, Piv. 0. and M., V. S. Dept. Agr., p. 156.) 

 But about 4^ per cent, of its food is poultry or game, and this is doubt- 

 less mostly obt^uned from fowls roosting in trees or exposed places. 

 By far the bulk of their food is composed of injurious animals, the 

 ju-incipal part of which is mice. We are disposed to Avage war upon 

 them for the occasional pullet they destroy and consider not the ten 

 destructive mice of which they rid us. 



8.?. liKNVs SroTlAPTl-:X SwAiNsoN. 



149. (oTO). Scotiaptex cinerea (Gmel.). 



Great Gray Owl. 



Largest of our Owls. No ear tufts. Wing, 115.00-18.00: bill, small, 

 nearly hidden by feathers; eyes, yellow; general color, dusky grayish- 

 brown and grayish-white. 



Lengih. 35.(^0-^.0.00; tail. 11.00-13.50. (Fisher). 



