34 FOOD OF WEST VIRGINIA BIRDS 



he found that 215 of them contained insects. Strange as it may seem 

 many of our agriculturists are not willing to count the almost inestimable 

 good that these birds do when they remember that some members of 

 the Hawk family have the bad habit of killing a few birds or chickens. 

 The Marsh Hawk should not be forgotten in a survey of this family 

 since it does great good in destroying large numbers of meadow mice 

 in the fields over which it delights to hunt. The Broad-winged Hawk 

 is another species that catches large numbers of mice, other mammals 

 and insects. It is not so common as some of our other Hawks, yet 

 along the base of Black Mountain, in Pocahontas County, I have found 

 numbers of these birds. The other rare Hawks, mentioned above, need 

 not be discussed for they are so few in number as to make them of 

 little economic importance. 



The Owls. 



Like the Hawks the Owls are under the ban of public opinion and 

 suffer death from every boy who goes out hunting. Only the other 

 day I saw a fine Barred Owl lodged in the top of a great tree where he 

 had been shot by a reckless gunner. In our State we have eight kinds 

 of Owls. They are the Barn Owl, Long-eared Owl, Short-eared Owl, 

 Barred Owl, Saw-whet Owl, Screech Owl, Great-horned Owl and Snowy 

 Owl. Of these the Long-eared, Short-eared, Saw-whet and Snowy are 

 very rare and not one of the four has been reported more than three 

 times from all localities in West Virginia. The Short-eared Owl 

 and Long-eared Owl are two species of moderate size; the Saw-whet Owl 

 is a diminutive northern species that has been found a few times along 

 the higher Alleghenies in winter time. My most authentic record was 

 made by Charles O. Handley at Lewisburg on Dec. 26, 1914. The Snowy 

 Owl is a large white bird that has been found a very few times within 

 our borders. Not long ago in reading the works of Alexander Wilson, 

 one of our greatest American ornithologists, I found this interesting 

 record in the story of a trip down the Ohio River made a few years 

 ago, and containing several references to the Snowy Owl "At a place 

 on the Ohio called Long Reach I examined another bird which was the 

 first ever recollected to have been seen there." Of the more common 

 Owls, the Barn Owl is the most rare, but the others are found in great 

 abundance. The little Screech Owl, in its two color phases, is very 

 common throughout our State. Of this bird Dr. Henshaw says, "Out 

 of 324 stomachs examined, 169 were found to contain insects; 142, small 

 mammals; 56, birds; and 15, crawfish. The Screech Owl should be en- 

 couraged to stay near barns and outhouses, as it will keep in check house 

 mice and wood mice, which frequent such places." The Great-horned 

 Owl is common in all parts of our State though less so in the moun- 

 tains. Of all our birds, with the possible exception of the Sharp-shinned 

 Hawk and Cooper's Hawk, the Great Horned Owl is most destructive 

 to poultry. Since this bird is so large and strong even turkeys are 

 taken, and this bird is one of the worst enemies of the Wild Turkey. 

 In the mountains the Barred Owl is the most abundant member of the 

 family. In camping out in many sections of this State I' have frequently 



