282 



j;iain Ileitis and orchard, tlu'iv has, uiilurl uiialclv. diii 

 inj^- recent years been a ^rcat decrease in the number of 

 these birds in many localities in Pennsylvania. This 

 diminulion, I judge, is, to a considerable extent, due 

 10 the fact that the stuffed lieads of these harmless and 

 beneficial owls have been extensively used to decorate 

 ladies' headgear. Great numbers of these owls were 

 also killed for bounties; I knew one hunter who shot 

 in one week over twenty of these birds when the 

 bounty act was in fo-rce. The stomachs of thirteen of 

 this lot of owls were examined by the writer and they 

 all contained only the remains of mice. 



WHAT DIFFERENT WRITERS SAY OF ITS FOOD. 



Dr. A. K. Fisher says: 



"The Long-eared Owl is une of our most beneficial species, 

 destroying- vast numbers of injurious rodents and seldnm 

 touching insectivorous birds." 



Audubon writes: 



"It preys chiefly on quadrupeds of the genus Avicola, and in 

 summer destroys many beetles." 



* 



Mr. H. W. Henshaw remarks: 



"Their food consists almost exclusively nf field mice, of which 

 they kill vast numbers, a fact which should earn them the pro- 

 tection of the farmer." 



