A BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE 

 DEVOTED TO THE STUDY AND PROTECTION OF BIRDS 



Official o«q»n of the Audubon Iociitiii 



Vol. X 



May— June, 1908 



No. 3 



A Family of Great Owls 



By WILLIAM COGSWELL CLARKE 



T 



i HE Hoof hoo! hoof of the Barred Owl, issuing 

 from the depths of the wood on a cloudy summer's 

 day, or at eventime, usually attracts attention 

 and passing comment. To some it is a mournful sound, 

 while to those who have a taste for the fields, it is most 

 pleasing and effective in giving a touch of the wild woods 

 to the surroundings. For the sake of those who have re- 

 gard for the big bird, I venture to publish the following short sketch. 



One Sunday, late in April, 1902, we were driving through a well-grown 

 patch of hard wood in Schraalenburgh, New Jersey, and, as we passed along, 

 a companion had the good luck to spy a fluffy, grayish white object at the foot 

 of a large white oak. This tree stood among others only twenty feet back from 

 the roadside. Hastening to the spot, we found a partially grown Barred Owl, 

 which had fallen out of its nest, either through some accident or because the 

 nest was naturally insecure. Judging from the mentality later displayed by 

 this baby owl, I rather hesitate to criticize the wisdom of its parents in selecting 

 such a location, and in building only a mere suggestion of a nest in an open 

 fork made by three limbs projecting from the main trunk of the tree. The little 

 one, not at all hurt by the fall, was at once adopted and taken home. 



Because of many past experiences with several varieties of young Hawks, 

 I was most agreeably surprised at the extreme gentleness and friendliness dis- 

 played from the first by this little Owl. He was still in his downy coat, and, as 

 yet, too young to stand on his legs. We fed him on fresh meat, supplemented, 

 when possible, by mice and deceased young chickens and ducks. The importance 

 of feeding growing Hawks, Crows, and Owls on these little animals is well 

 known. If these carnivorous birds do not receive small, readily digested bones, 

 their supply of lime salts will be so meager that rickets will result; that is, the 

 developing bones in the young bird will be structurally so weak that they will 

 either break or bend and become deformed, as the increasing weight of the grow- 

 ing bird is thrown upon them. I remember well a young Red-shouldered Hawk 



