114 NATURE STUDY LESSONS FOR PRIMARY GRADES 



We shall talk of the ones that make the wailing 

 cry. On account of the unpleasant music which 

 they make they have been given a name of which 

 they cannot be very proud. What is it? (The 

 screech owls.) 



Have you ever seen a screech owl ? What was it 

 doing? What kind of looking bird was it? (Per- 

 haps of a grayish color, or it may be of a rusty red 

 color, with lighter and darker markings. It is from 

 eight and a half to ten inches long. The children 

 show this by placing the hands so far apart.) 



At what time of day was it when you heard the 

 screech owl ? Was it talking in its sleep ? (No, the 

 night is the busy time of day for the screech owl.) 

 About what is it so busy ? (Getting its dinner and 

 breakfast. These are such hearty meals that it 

 needs no luncheon in the middle of the day.) 

 What do they find to eat ? (Mice, English sparrows, 

 and other small birds, eggs of birds, frogs, small 

 snakes, fish, grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, moths, 

 the cockchafer so injurious to fruit trees, and cut- 

 worms, which, like the owl, turn their night into day.) 



At what time did you say the screech owl catches 

 the mice ? (At night. Both the owl and the mouse 

 like to hunt after dark.) How can the owl see the 



