OF VIRGINIA 139 
other mammals; seven insects, and fourteen empty.” 
They are, therefore, classed as a most beneficial bird. 
They are not nocturnal in habits, doing their hunting by 
day as well as night. Only one brood a season. They are 
found principally on or near the salt marshes of the lower 
rivers emptying into the Chesapeake Bay, the island 
marshes of the Eastern Shore, Back Bay, and Currituck 
Sound. 
GENUS STRIX. 
[368]. Stria varia varia (Barton). Barred Owl. 
[Hoot Owl]. 
Rayez.—Eastern North America. Breeds from 
southern Keewatin, southern Quebec, and Newfound- 
land south to eastern Kansas and Georgia, and west to 
eastern Wyoming and eastern Colorado. 
This medium-sized owl is quite a common species with 
us, more so as we go inland. It also remains throughout the 
winter, being non-migratory, and seldom stays far from 
its hunting ground or home, each pair seemingly to have a 
stated hunting area to cover as their own. As with the 
other birds of prey, they are shot on sight by all farmers 
and sportsmen, who erroneously think they do more 
damage than good, destroying poultry and game. They 
are more common in heavy timber than elsewhere, and, as 
our tracts of big timber are rapidly being cut off, these 
birds will move farther and farther from the coast. It 
has been well proven, particularly by examination of the 
contents of stomachs of the owl by the Department of 
Agriculture in Washington, D. C., that these birds are 
