THE SCREECH OWL 



[E screech owl is found throughout the 

 whole of the United States and the south- 

 ern part of Canada. It is one of the 

 smaller owls, being about eight inches in length, 

 with conspicuous ear tufts; its wings and tail are 

 barred and its legs feathered. The adult bird may 

 be gray or brownish red. This variation in color, or 

 dichromatism as it is called, is well marked, and for 

 a long time it was supposed to have something to do 

 with the sex or age of the bird, some scientists even 

 going so far as to class the two as different species. 

 In reality it has to do with none of these, although 

 just why it occurs has not been satisfactorily answered. 

 This dichromatism occurs very frequently among the 

 squirrels, and it is not uncommon in the insect world. 

 The screech owl is one of our most beneficial owls, 

 for it feeds principally upon mice, reptiles, and insects, 

 but sometimes upon small birds. The greatest good 

 is done in the destruction of field-mice, which do 

 so much damage to the grass roots, to the grain both 

 when stacked and in the shock, and to young fruit- 



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