154 BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



seen ; the young leave the nest about the first week in May. They make 

 a noise which sounds like a dog " sniffing " the air. The noise gave me 

 quite a start the first time I heard it. It being at night in heavy timber, 

 and as it seemed to come from overhead somewhere, I supposed it was 

 a bear or some such animal up a tree near by." 



This little owl, although sometimes known to prey on small quad- 

 rupeds, principally mice, and at times on small birds, such as sparrows 

 and warblers, subsists mainly on the larger species of insects which it 

 is able to secure in its nocturnal wanderings. 



The stomach contents of seven of these owls, which I have examined, 

 are given in the following table: 



GENUS MEGASCOPS KAUP. 

 Megascope asio (LINN.). 



Screech Owl ; Red Owl ; Mottled Owl ; Gray Owl. 



DESCRIPTION (Plate 18). 



Adult or young Screech Owls may be either red or gray in color. The nestlings 

 are white. This species measures about 10 inches in length ; extent of wings about 

 22 inches. 



Habitat. Temperate eastern North America, south to Georgia and west to the 

 plains. Accidental in England. 



This handsome little owl is the most common of all owls found in 

 Pennsylvania. It is resident, but, unlike the long-eared species, is not 

 gregarious. Its almost spherical and white eggs four to six in num- 

 ber (mostly four) are deposited in a hollow tree. A tree in an apple 

 orchard is frequently made use of for breeding purposes, as well as a 

 common diurnal resort at all seasons. The eggs measure about 1.33 by 

 1.18 inches. This bird, when taken from the nest and raised, makes a 

 very interesting pet, one that not only becomes attached to its master, 

 but which also is capable of rendering him most efficient services in the 

 destruction of mice, whose vexatious ravages are frequently so annoying. 

 Some few years ago an acquaintance of mine placed two of these birds 

 in his cellar which was overrun with mice, and in a few weeks the place 

 was depopulated of these little four-footed pests. 



A Screech Owl which I kept for several months in captivity fed 

 eagerly on grasshoppers and pieces of fresh beef. When a mouse was 

 given to this bird it would seize it with its claws, and after severing 



