Birds of Prey 



375 



Finley & Bohlman 



FIG. 231. Young burrowing owls. These 

 Western owls live in holes in the earth. 



most entirely on rats 

 and mice and eats very 

 few birds and scarcely 

 any poultry. 



Other owls. Several 

 other owls are widely 

 distributed in North 

 America. Of the large 

 ones the barred owl is 

 the most common. It 

 lives in the woods, and 

 I have known of per- 

 sons' mistaking its loud hooting for the howling of 

 wolves. The snowy owl visits the Northern states in 

 winter. It is as large as the great horned owl. Its 

 plumage is white, barred with brownish black. In the 

 whole world there are some 300 species of owls. Some 

 bird students think that they are related to the goat- 

 suckers more closely than to hawks. 



HAWKS 



Hawks have the characteristics given at the beginning 

 of this chapter for birds of prey, but they lack the pe- 

 culiar features of the owls. They hunt in the daytime. 

 Their eyes are directed sideways, as is common in 

 birds, and not forward like the eyes of an owl. Their 

 feet are not feathered; each foot has one toe behind 

 and three in front. 



The sparrow hawk. This is the smallest and most 

 common of the hawks. It is but little larger than a robin. 

 It may be known from other birds of similar size by its 



