The American Barn Owl 187 



is the Owl of the ivy-covered tower and the ruined castle, and by its- 

 nightly wailings and wanderings peoples the ruins with ghostly tenants. 



The late Major Bendire, in his 'Life Histories,' states: "The Barn Owl, 

 strictly speaking, makes no nest. If occupying a natural cavity of a tree, the 

 eggs are placed on the rubbish that may have accumulated at the bottom; 

 if in a bank, they are laid on the bare ground and among the pellets of fur 

 and small bones ejected by the parents. Frequently quite a lot of such 

 material is found in their burrows, the eggs lying on and among the refuse. 

 Incubation usually commences with the first egg laid, and lasts about three 

 weeks. The eggs are almost invariably found in different stages of develop- 

 ment, and downy young may be found in the same nest with fresh eggs^ 

 Both sexes assist in incubation." One of the best methods of studying the 

 food habits of Owls is to gather the pellets which they disgorge (Read 

 E. L. No. 12). These consist of the undigested refuse of their food, hair, 

 bones, feathers, etc. Sometimes enormous quantities of this refuse is found 

 in the nesting place of the Barn Owl, one recorded instance being two or 

 three cubic feet. When the tired farmer is buried deep in slumber and 

 nature is repairing the waste of wearied muscles, this night-flying bird com- 

 mences its beneficial work, which ceases only at the rising of the sun. All 

 that has been written regarding the food of the Barn Owl shows it to be 

 of inestimable value to agriculture. Mr. W. H. Hudson, of England, says 

 of the Barn Owl: "It is surprising that at the present day any one should 

 think it necessary to write a fresh plea for this bird — a bird that has been a 

 favorite of our ornithologists for the last hundred years and whose praises- 

 may be read in a hundred volumes on our library shelves ! The feathered 

 cat has been minutely and lovingly described by all his biographers! 'He 

 who destroys an Owl is an encourager of mice,' says one writer; and his 

 value as a mouse-killer, and his beauty and singularity are points that are 

 invariably dwelt upon." Major Bendire says: "Looked at from an economic 

 standpoint, it would be difficult to point out a more useful bird than this 

 Owl, and it deserves the fullest protection; but, as is too often the case^. 

 man, who should be its best friend, is generally the worst enemy it has 

 to contend with, and is ruthlessly destroyed by him, partly on account of 

 its odd appearance and finely colored plumage, but oftener from the 

 erroneous belief that it destroys the farmer's poultry." Dr. A. K. Fisher,, 

 of the United States Department of Agriculture, the greatest living author- 

 ity on the food of Hawks and Owls, presents in 'Science, N. S. Vol. III,. 

 No. 69, pp. 623-624,' the following emphatic brief, showing the undeniable 

 value of the Barn Owl. 



"In a work on 'The Hawks and Owls of the United States,' published 

 in 1893, I recorded the results of the examination of 200 'pellets' or 

 'rejects' of the Barn Owl taken from one of the towers of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution, Washington, D. C, June 28, 189O- Since that time; 



