368 USEFUL BIRDS. 



The American Long-eared Owl {Asio wilsonianus) is a 

 bird of similar size and shape, but with a trifle larger head, 

 and very long ear tufts rising from near the middle of it. 

 It is dark brown above and light below. This is a long- 

 winged bird of the woods, a night hunter, hiding in thick 

 foliage of coniferous trees by day. It is a great killer of 

 wood mice and nocturnal insects, and kills a few birds. 



The Screech Owl (Megascops asio), the smallest of the 

 eared Owls, is hardly as large as a Quail. It has two color 

 phases that are not attributable to age or sex, some indi- 

 viduals being reddish in color, while others are gray. Its 

 wailing cries are frequently heard about orchards in towns 

 and villages, as well as in the woods, and it commonly nests 

 in hollow orchard trees. This is one of the most useful of 

 all Owls. It is very destructive to moths, caterpillars, and 

 beetles, as well as wood mice and field mice. In winter it 

 enters barns and sheds, where it kills mice, and sometimes 

 when driven by hunger it kills and eats Doves. During 

 the breeding season it kills some small birds, particularly 

 if mice are not plentiful enough to furnish an abundance of 

 food for its young. 



The Saw-whet or Acadian Owl (JSTyctala acadica) is a 

 little brown Owl, with no eartufts. It is the smallest of all 

 the native species of Massachusetts. It is rather uncom- 

 mon, but very useful, as it feeds mainly on mice and insects 

 and rather rarely on birds. 



The Barn Owl, perhaps the most useful of the family, is 

 rare here. 



On the whole, while Owls must be ranked among the ene- 

 mies of small birds, they usually do so much more good than 

 they do harm that only under exceptional conditions can they 

 be regarded as injurious, although the Horned Owl is com- 

 monly considered pernicious because of its destruction of 

 game. 



Crows and Jays. 



The Crows, Jays, and Magpies have acquired a world- wide 

 reputation as nest robbers. The common Crow and the Blue 

 Jay manage to live up to their reputation. My report on 

 the Crow and some additional notes on the destructiveness 



