Alabama, igi8. 49 



SCREECH OWL 



'Bhvs,-tYtD, Strange-voiced, sharp-beak'd, ill-omen'd fowl, 

 What art thou ? 



— What I ought to be, an owl ; 

 But if I'm such a scarecrow in your eye, 

 You're a much greater fright in mine ; — good-by ! 



f ENGTH, about 8 inches. Our smallest owl with ear tufts. There 

 •'— * are two distinct phases of plumage, one grayish and the other 

 bright rufous. Range: Resident throughout the United States, 

 southern Canada, and northern Mexico. 



Habits and economic status : The little screech owl inhabits 

 orchards, groves, and thickets, and hunts for its prey in such places 

 as well as along hedge-rows and in the open. During warm spells 

 in winter it forages quite extensively and stores up in some hollow 

 tree considerable quantities of food for use during inclement weather. 

 Such larders frequently contain enough mice or other prey to bridge 

 over a period of a week or more. With the exception of the burrow- 

 ing owl it is probably the most insectivorous of the nocturnal birds 

 of prey. It feeds also upon small mammals, birds, reptiles, batra- 

 chians, fish, spiders, crawfish, scorpions, and earthworms. Grass- 

 hoppers, crickets, ground-dwelling beetles, and caterpillars are its 

 favorites among insects, as are field mice among mammals and spar- 

 rows among birds. Out of 324 stomachs examined, 169 were found 

 to contain insects ; 142, small mammals ; 56, birds ; and 15, craw- 

 fish. The screech owl should be encouraged to stay near barns and 

 outhouses, as it will keep in check house mice and wood mice, which 

 frequent such places. — Biological Survey Bulletin. 



