THE NIGHT SIDE OF NATURE 77 



ceivable; unlike anything you ever heard. There 

 they will stay all day, digesting the mice with which 

 they have gorged themselves, until twilight, when 

 they again issue forth upon their madcap revels. 



It is well known that owls hunt in the night, but 

 it may be less a matter of common knowledge that, 

 like diurnal birds of prey, they disgorge the hard 

 indigestible parts of their food in the form of elon- 

 gated pellets. These are found in considerable 

 quantities about the birds' haunts, and an examina- 

 tion of them reveals the fact that owls prey upon a 

 number of predaceous rodents, the destruction of 

 which is directly beneficial to man. Of course, the 

 evidence gained in this way is incontestable; and 

 to show to what extent owls assist in preserving the 

 balance of nature, it may be mentioned that an ex- 

 amination of seven hundred pellets yielded the 

 remains of sixteen bats, three rats, two hundred and 

 thirty-nine mice, ninety-three voles, one thousand 

 five hundred and ninety shrews, and twenty- two 

 birds. These remarkable results were obtained 

 from the common barn owl; the remains of the birds 

 consisting of nineteen sparrows, one greenfinch, and 

 two swifts. This clever mouser, then, has a strong 

 claim to our protection, so let not idle superstition 

 further its destruction. 



The tawny and long-eared owls of our woodlands 

 are also nightly hunters, and an examination of their 



