The Birds of Wyoming. 79 



. OWLS. 



Owls taken as a whole are very desirable birds and should 

 never be molested. They usually feed upon rodents and in- 

 sects that are enemies to the stockman and farmer alike and 

 seldom prey upon birds of any kind. Unfortunately the av- 

 erage hunter shoots these birds upon sight without provoca- 

 tion, just to see them die. For after looking at a specimen he 

 always throws it aside and probably never considers that he 

 has taken from a community a bird that was of greater bene- 

 fit as a mouser than any cat in the settlement. By all means 

 protect these birds, and try and encourage their living about 

 your homes and you will not be overrun with mice, which 

 create such havoc about the Wyoming ranches. 



366. Asio wilsonianus (Less.). 

 American Long-eared Owl. 



Resident; the most common owl in the state. It usually 

 breeds up to 8,000 feet. The following extract from Fishers' 

 Hawks and Gwls of the United States, p. 140, presents this 

 species to the public in its true light : 



"The Long-eared Owl is one of our most beneficial spe- 

 cies, destroying vast numbers of injurious rodents and seldom 

 touching insectivorous birds. The birds killed by it are most- 

 ly seed-eating species which do not benefit the agriculturist 

 to any great extent. As this owl is readily destroyed, it is 

 the one that suffers most when short-sighted legislators enact 

 laws for the destruction of birds of prey. It will be seen from 

 the following testimony that it is both cruel and pernicious to 

 molest a bird so valuable and innocent as the one imder con- 

 sideration. 



"Audubon says : 'It preys chiefly on quadrupeds of the 

 genus Arvicola and in the summer destroys beetles.' Ornith. 

 Biography, Vol. IV, p. 573.) 



"Nuttall remarks: 'Besides mice and rats this species 

 also preys on field mice, moles and beetles.' (Land Birds, 

 1832, p. 131.) 

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