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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



More wary than the long-eared owl, this 

 bird has remained common in spite of the 

 many killed by hunters. 



Although this owl has excellent eyesight 

 by day, it usually hunts by night, flying with 

 soft wings a few feet above the ground and 

 pouncing suddenly on any prey that appears 

 beneath it. I have seen them in winter 

 coursing by moonlight near the highway 

 leading to the Key Bridge on the Virginia 

 shore of the Potomac River at Washington, 

 and also flying by day over small areas of 

 waste marshlands completely surrounded by 

 railroad tracks in the suburbs of Chicago. 



The nest of this owl is placed on the 

 ground, where from four to nine eggs are 

 laid in a slight depression containing a 

 small amount of nesting material. When 

 caring for their young, the parent owls hunt 

 constantly by day. 



The short-eared owl eats mice and other 

 small mammals mainly, with occasional 

 birds, and it must be considered distinctly 

 beneficial. Over open ground, the owls 

 seize their living prey easily without stop- 

 ping, and carry it to a perch to be eaten. 

 When cover is heavy, the owls pounce 

 quickly into the grass and may remain on 

 the ground to eat if successful in effecting 

 a capture. Where there is a sudden in- 

 crease of mice, these owls gather in num- 

 bers and at such times may be considered 

 gregarious, as thirty or forty may be seen 

 together. 



The call is a monotonous hoot, repeated 

 rapidly, higher in tone than the call of the 

 great horned owl, and the bird also has high- 

 pitched squealing calls. When its nest or 

 young are approached, it often evidences 

 displeasure by loudly snapping its bill. 



This species is regularly migratory and 

 ranges widely when not nesting. It breeds 

 from northern Alaska and Greenland to 

 California, Kansas, and New Jersey, and in 

 winter is found south to Guatemala. It also 

 ranges in South America to the Falkland 

 Islands, and in Europe, Asia, and north- 

 eastern Africa. Related forms are found 

 throughout the world. 



Great Horned Owl 



(Bubo virginianus) 



Fiercest and most powerful of our com- 

 mon owls, the great horn is the best known 

 of those found in America. It ranges 

 widely and is able to live under a variety 

 of natural conditions (see page 228). 



The great horned owl, except during the 

 nesting season, is solitary and in the main 

 inhabits unsettled areas. In the East and 

 North it frequents dense woodlands of coni- 

 fers or hardwoods, coming into the open 

 only on its hunting expeditions at night. 

 In arid sections in the West it is found along 

 the cliffs of rocky canyons, or along earth- 

 walled gulches where holes and crannies 

 offer shelter during the day. In the moun- 

 tains it ranges in open forests where there 

 is little settlement and the birds are not 

 frequently disturbed. 



Even in the colder parts of its range this 

 owl nests early in the year. I have taken 

 eggs in Wisconsin the first week in March, 

 during a blizzard, when the weather was so 

 cold that the eggs were frozen before I ar- 

 rived home. To give approximate dates, 

 in New England they may breed in Feb- 

 ruary and March, in Virginia in late Jan- 

 uary and February, and in Florida in late 

 November and December. 



The nest is usually in the deserted 

 domicile of a hawk or crow, sometimes 

 high above the ground, or about cliffs where 

 holes may be occupied. Where such shel- 

 ters are lacking the birds have been known 

 to nest on the ground. The eggs usually 

 number two or three, rarely as many as five. 

 One family is reared each season, and both 

 male and female incubate the eggs, which 

 require about four weeks to hatch. 



Great horned owls are solicitous parents, 

 protecting their nests most successfully 

 against depredation by other forest crea- 

 tures, and many are the recorded occasions 

 on which they have struck fearlessly at men 

 who approached their homes. Driven with 

 savage vigor, the claws of this owl can in- 

 flict wounds through heavy clothing. 



The voice of the great horned owl is a low 

 who6 whoo whoo whoo whoo whoo, the first 

 four notes given rapidly and the last two 

 somewhat slowly. One bird of a pair, sup- 

 posed to be the female, has a deeper voice 

 than the other. The notes carry for long 

 distances, and to human ears attuned to 

 wild Nature they are an attractive and 

 mysterious element in life outdoors. 



In choice of food the great horned owl is 

 bold and predatory. Any bird or mammal 

 not too large is subject to attack, this owl 

 killing with ease rabbits, hares, woodchucks, 

 and ducks, and occasionally even taking 

 geese and turkeys. Domestic cats are not 

 immune, and the bird regularly kills and 

 eats skunks without seeming to be affected 



