AMERICAN ORNITHOL O C, Y 



2r 



borhood rarely being large enough 

 for more than one pair. Except 

 during the breeding, season it is 

 even hardly large enough for one 

 pair, and the male frequently has to 

 make lively use of his wings to es- 

 cape from his irate spouse, who, 

 being considerably larger and 

 stronger than himself rules the 

 household like a veritable tyrant. 



The appetite of a horned owl is 

 amazing, and he has the ability to 

 supply it even in the coldest of 

 weather, as he is very agile and 

 daring. He will frequently enter 

 a hen coop and kill several chick- 

 ens in a night, devouring only 

 their heads, unless, unusually 

 hungry. His bill of fare includes: 

 turkey, chickens, doves, geese, 

 ducks, grouse, quail, woodcock, 

 mice, rabbits, squirrels, skunks, 

 woodchucks, fish, etc. He is the 

 greatest enemy the game birds 

 have to contend with, his sight 

 being so keen and his voracity so 

 great that few can escape. He 

 frequents heavy timbered woods, 

 generally near some water. 



On a still night the owl's note is 

 often heard, "Hoo — hoo — Tohoo — 

 are — you.-"' It is a dismal sound, 

 well calculated to cause terror in 

 the heart of any camper who may 

 be unfortunate enough to be 

 superstitious. They can so modu- 

 late their tone that while they 

 are really very near, it sounds as 

 though the cry came from a long 

 distance away. 



Their breeding places vary 

 greatly in different parts of the 



country. When possible, they will 

 choose a hollow trunk or limb for 

 their building site, but when such 

 places are scarce they will use the 

 old nests of hawks or crows, 

 which they remodel for their own 

 use, adding a few twigs and feath- 

 ers, in places where large trees 

 are scarce they will nest on a 

 rocky cliff or even on the ground. 

 The ground about the nest is 

 often covered with remains of 

 birds and animals that they have 

 destroyed. While very destruc- 

 tive to poultry and game birds, 

 in some localities they are of 

 great benefit to the farmers. For 

 instance, in the West they feed al- 

 most "wholly on rabbits, which 

 otherwise would totally ruin the 

 crops. They show a preference 

 for this meat, and where hares are 

 abundant will seldom molest poul- 

 try. The number of rats and 

 other rodents that they destroy, 

 render them of value in many lo- 

 calities. Thus the horned owl, like 

 many other birds, has his redeem- 

 ing qualities. 



A man from Grafton, Mass., 

 brought a Great Horned Owl to 

 our office a few days ago. It was 

 captured by his bird-dog. He says 

 that his dog brought the bird home 

 and dropped it at his feet, wag- 

 ging his tail in evident delight. 

 Unless the dog caught the owl un- 

 awares and killed him instantly, 

 he must have had a very lively 

 time before he conquered. The 

 bird was fat and evidently in good 

 health. 



