THE BARRED OWL. 337 



evening and throughout the night, especially during the mating season, their 

 vocal efforts are so perceptibly increased that two or three individuals may 

 succeed in producing such a startling variety of sounds as to lead to the 

 belief that a small army of these birds had been turned loose in the neigh- 

 borhood. 



While the Barred Owl is not quite as harmless a bird as the three pre- 

 ceding species, when impartially judged it does far more good than harm; 

 and many of the depredations of the Great Horned Owl are erroneously 

 charged to it, owing to the slight difference in size between these birds. From 

 a careful examination of ninety -five stomachs, made under the direction of I )r. 

 C. Hart Merriam, in charge of the Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy, 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture, it appears that only three contained poultry ; 

 twelve, other birds, among them two Screech and one Saw-whet Owl, but no 

 game birds; while forty contained mice; fifteen, other mammals, among the 

 latter but very few rabbits and squirrels; four, frogs; nine, crawfish; two, 

 fish, and sixteen were empty. This is certainly not a bad record. 



Mr. Frank Bolles, who recently published an exceedingly interesting and 

 instructive a#icle on "Barred Owls in Captivity," drawing attention to 

 peculiarities of these birds, which only a thorough lover of nature would 

 notice, says: "They feed also on snakes, earth worms, grasshoppers, different 

 species of beetles and flies. They not only drank water freely, but took pro- 

 longed baths whenever fresh water was given them. Their tank was one foot 

 HI id a half long, a foot wide, and ten inches deep. Their reflection in this com- 

 paratively deep and dark pool greatly amused them for a time. * * * With 

 great interest in the result I placed nine live perch and bream in the Owls' 

 tank one morning when they were about three months old. They had never 

 seen fish before. As the light played upon the red fins and bright scales, 

 the birds' excitement was amusing to see. In a very short time, however, 

 they plunged feet foremost into the water, and with almost unerring aim 

 lanced the victims with their talons and flew out with them. Then the 

 head was crushed at its juncture with the backbone, the spines were bitten 

 into jelly and the fish was swallowed." 1 Every page of this paper is full of 

 interesting information, but want of space forbids additional quotations there- 

 from. 



Except dining the mating and breeding season the Barred Owl is an 

 unsocial bird, spending the greater part of the year in solitude and resenting 

 all intrusion of its kind. Throughout the greater part of its range the mating 

 season begins about the first week in February, occasionally a week or two 

 earlier or later, according to latitude and season. 



The Barred Owl generally nests in natural cavities of trees, preferably in 

 dense and swampy woods, and such as are in the vicinity of water courses, 

 chestnuts, poplars, oaks, American lindens, elms, walnut, sycamores, maples, 

 willows, birch, and sweet gum trees being most often selected for this pur- 



'Auk, Vol. vii, April, 190, pp. 101-114. 

 26957 -Bull. 1 2'J 



