CHECKS UPON INCREASE OF USEFUL BIRDS. 367 
shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) is the most common and 
also the most useful. This species feeds largely on meadow 
mice. All the Buzzards are very destructive to field mice 
or other small rodents, and on the whole may be regarded as 
useful to the farmer. These are the large Hawks, with long, 
broad wings, that are often seen soaring in circles. 
The Marsh Hawk or Bog Hawk (Circus hudsonius), a 
long, slender bird, the male of which is very light in color, 
and the female brown with a white rump, is often seen 
flying low over the meadows. ‘This bird also is a great 
destroyer of meadow mice, and is in general very useful. 
Owls. 
All the Owls kill birds, but most species kill but few, 
and live mainly on mammals, particularly rodents like mice, 
rabbits, and hares, on the increase of which they constitute 
an effectual check. The Snowy Owl (Myctea nyctea) and 
the Hawk Owl (Surnia ulula caparoch) are rather rare 
winter visitors; but the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virgini- 
anus), our largest resident species, is a great feeder on 
skunks, “cotton-tail” rabbits, and mice, although it also 
kills some game birds and small birds. This is the Owl 
that hoots in the winter woods, Hid’ hoo hoo, Hod’ hoo hoo, 
Whoo’. It is often called the Cat Owl, because of its long 
ear tufts; or the Hoot Owl, because of its lugubrious cries. 
The Barred Owl (Syrnium varium) is another large Owl 
that hoots lugubriously, but its call usually ends with a hol- 
low hoo’‘aw, given with a falling inflection. It has a large, 
round head, without ear tufts, and is barred with brown across 
its whitish breast. This bird is also a mouse eater, but, like 
the Great Horned Owl, it kills some poultry and game. 
The Short-eared Owl (Asio accipitrinus) is a medium-sized 
Owl, light yellowish-brown in color, streaked with blackish 
above and colored plain buff below. It lives much about 
meadows and marshes, where it hawks around in the dusk 
as the Marsh Hawk does by day, quietly picking up mice. 
It seems to be a very silent bird, and its long wings carry 
it about in soundless flight, to the undoing of its prey. 
At times it kills a good many small Sparrows on the marsh. 
