132 THE BIRDS 
mice, and other small mammals, and very seldom a bird 
of any sort. Let the farmer look to this bird as a friend 
indeed around the premises. On the eighth of December, 
1911, I had sent me a fine specimen of the Barn Owl, 
taken by a friend near a large barn where I have since 
learned they have bred for a number of years. I visited 
this barn this season, 1912, and discovered they had been 
broken up and had not been seen around again. One 
brood a season is all that is raised with us. They are non- 
migratory, and remain in the near vicinity of their nest- 
ing site. Major Bendire, in his monumental work, states 
that “the noxious vermin required by a pair of these 
owls to feed their family, usually consisting of from five 
to seven young, is almost incredible, and I am certain 
exceeds the captures of a dozen cats for the same period.” 
A pair of these owls have bred for years in the old church 
tower on Jamestown Island, and are also common in the 
“Valley.” 
