i8o Bird -Lore 



prior to their capture, 219 locusts and 247 other insects, besides two mice. One of the 

 Owls had eaten a small bird, but it had also eaten 32 locusts and 8 other insects. 



Mr. George C. Jones, of Fairfield County, Connecticut, says: "I think the smaller 

 species of Owls feed upon the cutworm to some extent, I h^ve found cutworms in the 

 stomach of the common Screech Owl. The fact that both the cutworms and the Owls are 

 nocturnal leads me to believe that the Owls, of all the birds, are the most etticient extermi- 

 nators of this formidable pest and should onthis account receive protection. The farmers 

 here are large growers of tobacco, and the damage done by the cutworm to the young 

 plants and the labor of resetting forced upqn the growers is almost incalculable. I believe 

 that if our native Owls were as plenty as some other species of birds the ravages of this 

 destructive worm would be much less than at present." 



Dr. A. K. Fisher, in his report on the Screeeh Owl (Bull. No. 3, Div. of Ornithology, 

 U. S. Dept. Agl.) says: "Their economic relations are of the greatest importance, particu- 

 larly on account of the abundance of the species in many of the farming districts, and who- 

 ever destroys them through ignorance or prejudice should be severely condemned." 



In his summary of the results of the examination of the stomach contents of 255 Screech 

 Owls, he gives the following valuable facts: i contained poultry; 38, other birds; how- 

 ever, many of these were English Sparrows, the well-known introduced pest; 91 had been 

 eating mice; 11, other mammals; 100, insects; 32 had been eating an assorted diet of 

 lizards, fish, spiders, crawfish, scorpions, etc., and 43 stomachs were empty. 



This brief outline of the life-history and economic value of the Screech Owls is pre- 

 sented to the farmers, fruit-growers and school children of the country, with the hope that 

 it will create in them a desire to study and protect this very valuable and interesting class 

 of birds. 



Study Points for Teachers and Students 



Trace distribution of the Screech Owls on the map. Relate some of the life-history of 

 the Screech Owls from your own observations. Describe breeding places you have found. 

 If in a tree, what kind ? What is the botanical name of the tree ? Give your own reasons 

 why Screech Owls should be protected. Who was Aristotle? Tell something interest- 

 ing about him. 



For additional valuable information regarding the Screech Owls, consult the reference 

 books named in leaflet No. 8, also '^ First Annual Report of the United States Entomo- 

 logical Commission Relating to the Rocky Mountain Locust," Government Printing Office, 

 Washington, D. C. 



