190 THE RAPTORIAL BIRDS OF IOWA 



The Short-eared Owl or Marsh Owl, as it is sometimes called, is 

 quite distinctly a bird of the open prairies and marshes, in which 

 respect it is to be compared with the Marsh Hawk. It is one of the 

 most diurnal of our owls ; and especially in early dusk and on cloudy 

 days, is found searching the long grass of fields and meadows for 

 mice, shrews and other small mammals, as well as for insects, upon 

 which it feeds. 



It is frequently startled from its place of concealment by the 

 hunter, and is usually shot down regardless of its economic value. 

 Late in the fall it may be found in considerable numbers, and appar- 

 ently at these seasons congregates where food is plentiful, and where 

 the protecting slough grass affords sufficient cover. 



The nest, which is placed on the ground, is composed of grasses 

 and a few of the bird's own feathers. The eggs are white, measur- 

 ing about 1.60 by 1.25 inches, and number from four to seven in a 

 clutch. A nest of this species was found near Swan lake in Emmett 

 county by Rev. A. G. Bailey. The nest was in a slight depression in 

 the prairie, and was composed of grasses. R. M. Anderson mentions 

 a set of six eggs which were collected by Mr. M. E. Halvorsen, May 

 16, 1896, near Forest City. "The nest was on the ground in a nearly 

 dried marsh, placed between two big clumps of earth ; composed of a 

 few blades of grass and some feathers." A nest of the Short-eared 

 Owl which contained five eggs was discovered by Mr. Charles Camel, 

 May 15, 1889. The nest was on the ground in a marsh near Pap- 

 poose creek, southeast of Cedar Rapids. The bird was shot, and the 

 set of eggs is now in the Coe College Museum, having been preserved 

 by Mr. G. H. Berry. 



The stomachs of a pair of Short-eared Owls from Story county, 

 examined by Prof. F. E. L. Beal, contained mice only, though "they 

 were shot in an artificial grove swarming with small birds." A. K. 

 Fisher reports a specimen examined from Hancock county, July 15, 

 1889, which contained two meadow mice and two shrews; also two 

 specimens from Keokuk, the first of which, November 8. 1885, con- 

 tained a grackle, and the second, January 1, 1890, a mouse. One is 

 often surprised, when handling the first bird of this species, to dis- 

 cover the remarkable extent of the external ear. The radiating 

 feathers about the eyes in these, as in other owls, cover the auditory 

 apparatus, and in this species conceal a skin-lined cavity extend- 

 ing about half way around each eye. 



