OEDEES OF BIRDS— BIRDS OF PREY 



Zoological fark. 



BARN-OWL. 



THE HORNED-OWL FAMILY. 



Bubonidae. 



The Long-Eared Owl 1 looks like a small 

 and imperfect imitation of the great horned owl. 

 It can always be distinguished by its small size, 

 and the fact that its horns appear to have been 

 set too close together on the top of its head, and 

 do not fit very well. Its total length is about 

 15 inches, and its general color is a fine mottling 

 of gray, tawny and black, which produces a 

 brownish-gray bird. It is found all over the 

 United States. 



The food of this very useful bird consists 

 mainly of mice. In April, 188S, at Munson 

 Hill, Virginia, Dr. Fisher collected about 50 

 pellets from under a tree in which a Long-Eared 

 Owl had roosted, and found that they contained 

 the following remains: 95 meadow-mice, 19 

 pine-mice, 15 house-mice, 5 white-footed mice, 

 3 Cooper's mice, 26 short-tailed shrews and 13 

 birds. Of the birds, there were 11 sparrows, 1 

 blue-bird and 1 warbler. Of this species Dr. 



1 A'si-o wil-son-i-an'us. 



Fisher says: "It is both cruel and pernicious 

 to molest a bird so valuable and innocent as the 

 one under consideration." 



The Short-Eared Owl 2 is of about the same 

 size as the preceding species, but its ears are so 

 short that they look like two small feathers that 

 have been thrust carelessly into the plumage di- 

 rectly above the eyes. Above it is a brownish- 

 yellow bird, and buffy white mnderneath. It is 

 found from the arctic regions of North America 

 to Patagonia, and throughout nearly the whole 

 of the Old World except Australasia. Its food 

 habits are very similar to those of the long-eared 

 owl, and it is equally deserving of a perpetual 

 close season. 



The Barred Owl 3 has not quite so good a 

 reputation as the three noticed above, but its 

 record is by no means bad. Out of 109 stomachs 

 examined by the Biological Survey, three con- 

 tained domestic fowls, one a ruffed grouse and 

 one a pigeon. Six contained screech-owls, one 

 a saw- whet owl, three held sparrows, one a wood- 

 pecker, and two small birds were not identified. 

 Against this debit was a credit of 46 mice, 18 

 other small mammals, 4 frogs, 1 lizard, 2 fishes, 

 2 spiders, 9 crawfish and 20 empties. The 

 eighteen small mammals consisted of 5 red 



Photo, and copyright, 1902. by W. L. Underwood. 

 BARRED OWLS. 



squirrels, 1 flying squirrel, 1 chipmunk, 4 rab- 

 bits, 2 shrews, 2 moles, 1 weasel and 2 rats. 

 From this very exact evidence, the reader 



2 A'si-o ac-cip-i-tri'nus. Length, from 14 to 16 

 inches. 



3 Syr'ni-vm va'ri-um. 



