The Great Horned Owl 43 



were meadow mice, 2 pine mice, 179 house mice, 20 rats, 6 

 jumping mice, 20 shrews, 1 star-nosed mole and 1 English 

 sparrow. An interesting fact in this connection is that when- 

 ever provender is plenty these owls often -content themselves 

 with simply eating the brains of their victims. Mr. Charles 

 Dury records that the remains of 113 Norway rats, most of 

 them with their heads split open and the brains removed, were 

 found in and about a nest of barn owls, which was in a syca- 

 more stub near a farmer's lawn. 



The nestlings of these owls are voracious eaters and it 

 keeps their fond parents busy to supply them with food and 

 this is an additional reason why they are so valuable ; and 

 what is true of them in this regard is true of all birds. This 

 fact is not generally appreciated. The number of broods and 

 young vary according to the species and the region in which 

 they live. Many species average from two to three broods. of 

 three to five young every season. The young, from the time 

 the eggs are hatched until the last offspring has left the nest, 

 demand the most constant and untiring industry on the part of 

 the parents. Meals are very frequent, often averaging one 

 every two minutes. At first the nestlings consume more than 

 their own weight in food each day, and make daily gain in 

 weight of twenty to fifty per cent. At this time they appear 

 to consist of little else than mouth and stomach and spend 

 nearly all their waking moments eating. The total amount of 

 the material required to satisfy their appetites is astonishing, 

 and when the greater portion of that material consists of in- 

 jurious animal life, as it does in the case of these owls, it is 

 readily seen why they are so valuable. 



