VULTURES, HAWKS, AND OWLs.- 
shouldered Hawk contained the remains of poultry, while mice were 
found in no less than one hundred and two, and insects in ninety-two. 
That the Sparrow Hawk is also wrongly named is clear from a study 
of its food, only fifty-four out of three hundred and twenty stomachs 
examined containing remains of birds, while insects were found in two 
hundred and fifteen. me 
As a matter of fact, among our commoner Hawks, the Cooper and 
Sharp-shinned are the only ones feeding largely on birds and poultry, 
and if the farmer will take the pains to ascertain what kind of Hawk it 
is that pays unwelcome visits to his barn-yard, he will be spared the 
injustice of condemning all Hawks for the sins of one or two. 
Feeding after sunset, when the small mammals are most active, 
Owls are even more beneficial than Hawks. The Great Horned Owl, 
it is true, has an undue fondness for poultry, but the bird is generally 
so rare near thickly populated regions that on the whole it does com- 
paratively little harm. 
Fortunately, itis those Owls which are most common in settled 
regions which are of most value to man. Thus, our little Screech Owl 
feeds chiefly on mice and insects. Only one of the two hundred and 
fifty-five stomachs examined by Dr. Fisher contained the remains of’ 
poultry while mice were found in ninety-one and insects in one hundred. 
Of the Short-eared or Marsh Owl, seventy-seven out of one hundred 
and one stomachs contained mice remains, and the same injurious 
little rodents were found in eighty-four out of one hundred and seven 
stomachs of the Long-eared Owl. 
The bones and hair of the small mammals eaten by Owls are rolled 
into oblong pellets in the stomach and are ejected at the mouth. 
These pellets may often be found in large numbers beneath the roosts 
in which Owls pass the day. In 200 such castings of the Barn Owl Dr. 
Fisher found the remains of 454 small mammals of which no less than 
225 were meadow mice. 
Hawks build large. bulky nests of sticks placing them usually well up 
in large trees, and lay, as a rule, four eggs which are generally whitish, 
blotched with brown. The Marsh Hawk is an exception. Its nest 
built largely of grasses, is placed on the ground in marshes and the 
eggs, often numbering six and rarely eight, are bluish white unmarked. 
The Owls: nest in holes in trees or banks, or, in some instances, an 
old Hawk or Crow nest may be occupied. The eggs usually number 
three to five and are always pure white. 
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