The American Barn Owl 



whitewash, — excrement wherein the calcium of unassimilated bone-stuffs 

 figures predominantly. But the second token, the refuse heap, is more 

 interesting and more instructive. Below or beside each nest is an accumu- 

 lation, sometimes decades old, of mammal-skulls, fur, and feathers, in part 

 rejected portions from the banqueting table, but chiefly pellets, or "casts," 

 indigestible portions of food which are automatically ejected from the 

 bird's crop when the edible portions have been released. Barn Owls are 

 prodigious eaters, and it becomes important to examine their table and 



their garbage can, both 

 qualitatively and quan- 

 titatively. As to quan- 

 tity, I have seen dumps 

 which contained not less 

 than three bushels of 

 material, with hundreds 

 of skulls apparent on a 

 superficial examination. 

 Not even this represents 

 the original mass, for in 

 the older of the Aluco- 

 nine kitchen middens, 

 the lower strata have 

 disintegrated and set- 

 tled. The Barn Owl's 

 table, too, is always set. 

 The youngsters are not 

 only fed diligently all 

 night, but a generous 

 store is laid by for day- 

 light lunches. The poor 

 dears are sure to need a 

 "piece," you know! 

 Thus, Fred Truesdale 

 found six mice, three 

 rats, and two gophers in 

 a nest containing seven 

 young. Tyler, of Fresno, 

 found a nest containing 

 four very small birds and 

 six eggs, for which the 

 following provision had 

 been made: five Pocket 

 Gophers (Thomomys), 



Taken in San Bernardino County 



A WELL EARNED VIEW 

 IOj6 



Photo by Wright M. Pierce 



