American Horned Owl 523 



our Owls, its great size and fierce disposition making it a veritable tiger among 

 birds. Its food is of great variety, consisting of birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, 

 crustaceans, and insects. Among the birds most frequently taken may be men- 

 tioned all kinds of poultry, Grouse, Quail, Doves, Wild Ducks, and even Hawks, 

 Crows, and other Owls fall its victims. Dr. P. R. Hoy, of Racine, Wisconsin, 

 received a Great Horned Owl which he placed in a large enclosure containing a 

 Bald Eagle. The next morning the eagle was dead, having been despatched by 

 the Owl during the night. Among mammals, hares, rabbits, squirrels, skunks, 

 opossums, and small rodents help to fill out its bill of fare. Wherever food is 

 plenty it often contents itself with simply eating the heads of its victims, and thus 

 wipes out whole families of birds in a night. Dr. C. Hart Merriam states that 

 one of these Owls has been known to decapitate three Turkeys and several 

 chickens in a single night, leaving their bodies uninjured and fit for the table. 

 These voracious habits make them detested by poultry raisers and sportsmen, 

 and no opportunity is neglected to destroy them ; but as the depredations are 

 committed at night it is not always easy to capture them. Of the hundred and 

 twenty-seven stomachs examined by Dr. Fisher thirty-one contained poultry or 

 game birds; thirteen, mice; sixty-five, other mammals; one, fish; ten, insects; 

 and seventeen were empty. 



The Great Horned Owl is a resident wherever found and is one of the earliest 

 breeders among the birds, the mating season beginning in midwinter while the 

 ground is still covered with snow and ice. Whenever possible a hollow tree is 

 selected for the nesting site, but when this is unavailable the old nest of a Hawk 

 or Crow may be taken, and in exceptional instances they may construct their 

 own nest, or place the eggs on a ledge of rock or the ground. They are devoted 

 and courageous in the defense of their nests and young, and more than one would- 

 be despoiler has been forced to beat a hasty retreat to keep out of reach of the 

 sharp and powerful talons. The eggs are usually two or three in number and 

 about 2.20 by 1.80 inches in size. To show that the young are well provided for, 

 we may quote from a description of the food found in a nest which contained 

 two young Owls : "A mouse, a young muskrat, two eels, four bullheads, a wood- 

 chuck, four Ruffed Grouse, one rabbit, and eleven rats, in all weighing about 

 eighteen pounds." The common call which is most frequently uttered is a 

 deep-toned whoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, whooo, whooo. "Aside from these, they have 

 several others, one a cat-like squeal or cry like waah-hee, and again a series of 

 yelps, similar to the barking of a dog." 



Other American Horned Owls. Of the several geographical races the West- 

 ern Horned Owl (B. v. pallescens) is similar but much lighter in color, the buff 

 markings being largely replaced by gray or white and the darker ones less dusky 

 and of less extent ; it is found in the western United States except on the north- 

 west coast, where it is replaced by the Dusky Horned Owl (B. v. saturatus), 

 which is an extremely dark-colored race, the prevailing color being fuscous or 

 dusky. The Arctic Horned Owl (B. v. subarcticus] is still lighter colored, the 

 prevailing aspect being white and the dark markings being very much reduced 

 in extent. Lower California is the home of a small race known as the Dwarf 



