37 2 



THE AMERICAN BARX OWL, 



AS late as 1880 only five records of the appearance of this bird \vithin 

 the state were known to Dr. Wheaton, and none had ever been seen in 

 Indiana. Soon after that there was a notable increase in numbers north 

 of the Ohio River. Mr. Charles Dury of Cincinnati discovered a small 

 colon v in the town hall at Glendale. Ohio, Oct. iSth, 1883, and concluded 

 they must have nested there the previous season. Some idea of the birds' 

 usefulness in the community was conveyed by the "pellets," or little spheres 

 of indigestible matter ejected by the Owls from time to time. "They cov- 

 ered the floor several inches deep in places. I examined many of them and 

 found them made up entirely of the hair and bones of the smaller rodents, 



mostly mice. 

 There must 

 have been 

 the debris of 

 several thou- 

 sand mice 

 and rats." 

 Captain Ben- 

 dire is certain 

 that the cap- 

 tures of a sin- 

 gle pair of 

 Barn Owls, 

 d u r i n g the 

 nesting sea- 

 son, exceed 

 those of a 

 dozen cats 

 for the same 

 period. 



The species 



has lately been reported from various points all over the state, including sev- 

 eral along the Lake Erie shore ; but the only region where it is yet called 

 common is in the lower Scioto Valley. Rev. \Y. F. Henninger, at Waverly, 

 mounted ten specimens brought in to him at various times from 1898 to 

 1901. He says the birds are known locally as "White Owls/' and that they 

 frequent the bottom lands adjoining the Scioto River, breeding most com- 

 monly in the large sycamores which line that stream. 



The Barn Owl, as its name indicates, often passes the day in barns or 

 outbuildings, being drawn thither solely by the abundance of mice which 

 such places afford. It is said to be a very quiet, peaceable bird, offering no 

 violence to the poultry, not even to the pigeons which often share its quar- 



Circleville. Photo by Dr. Howard Jones. 



A XKSTJXG SITK OF TIIK BARX OWL. 



