36 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



single Barn Owl has been known to eat eight mice, one after the other 

 and then at the end of three hours to be ready for another meal. It 

 has been found by examination that their food consists of, almost with- 

 out exception, rodents which are harmful both to crops and trees, so 

 that probably this bird is the most useful one, in the amount of good 

 work done, of any that we have in this country. Besides rodents they 

 catch insects and also eat some fish. 



In Europe, Barn Owls breed most commonly in barns, church towers 

 orruins, while in this country they are most often found nesting in 

 holes in trees or banks. Usually the bottom of the cavity is scantily 

 lined with feathers but this is not always the case. The eggs require 

 about three weeks in which to hatch and as the bird commences to sit 

 before the set is complete the eggs do not hatch at the same time. 

 Young birds several days days old and eggs are often found in the nest 

 together, and usually over a week elapses from the time of the 

 hatching of the first egg to that of the last. The breeding season, 

 especially after the young have hatched, is a very busy one for the 

 adults, for their large family is always hungry and trips between the 

 nest and the hunting grounds have to be made regularly and often. 



The young are first covered with a soft white down; in about a week 

 or ten days a few pinfeathers make their appearance and then their 

 development is more rapid but it is several weeks before they can 

 leave their nest and follow their parents across the marsh to take their 

 first lessons in mouse-lore. The plumage of Barn Owls is soft even for 

 that of an Owl and their flight, which is very easily performed, is 

 entirely noiseless as they sweep in long curves just over the tops of 

 the meadow grass. They have two distinct notes, one a shrill cry and 

 the other a deep-toned, long-drawn grunt. They are more gregarious 

 than the other Owls except the Burrowing, and are often found in 

 colonies. In the day time they remain concealed under dense foliage 

 or in hollow trees. 



OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS. 



By William Gaylord Tay'loe. 



I want to tell you what a great amount of pleasure I had last winter 

 feeding the birds in my back yard. Fourteen varieties and 25 to 30 

 at a time, and all but one have readily eaten the food which I put out 

 for them, and that one was the most beautiful and loving of them all, 



