68 BULLETIN 326, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



wonder. On the second day of his captivity two more mucaros were secured, 

 an adult female and a young bird, fully feathered. The young bird was intro- 

 duced into the cage first, and the earlier occupant objected vigorously with 

 sharp, barking notes, glaring down at the frightened intruder, which cowered in 

 a corner. When the other adult was put in, however, it was too much, and 

 the original bird, grasping it with one foot, began pulling out feathers with 

 claws and bill while the stranger was too startled and dazed to attempt to 

 defend itself. These birds were kept in a darkened room and were quite active 

 during the day. 



While the natives claim that the little owl does much damage to the coffee 

 crop by biting the ripened berries, sucking the juices from the sweet inner skin, 

 and then letting the berry fall, most of them admitted upon close questioning 

 that no one had seen the birds doing this. The only known facts seem to be 

 that the owls are heard calling in the coffee plantations at night, and in the 

 morning the berries are found on the ground. The better-informed growers 

 attribute the damage to rats, probably the real culprits. The matter was tested 

 with the captive birds, and though it was only the latter part of June, enough 

 ripened berries were found for the purpose. These were carefully counted and 

 inspected, and for two days the first bird was offered nothing but coffee ber- 

 ries and water. At the end of this time the berries remained untouched, though 

 the bird drank freely, and hunger made it very restless and active. It was then 

 offered a large green grasshopper and a honey creeper. The former was swal- 

 lowed at once, while the bird was carefully plucked, a process consuming 20 

 minutes, and then pulled apart and swallowed. For another period of two 

 days the bird was given nothing but coffee berries and water, with the same 

 result. Similar experiments with the other birds produced similar results. 

 These experiments w T ould seem to show that these individuals at least had no 

 taste for coffee. In other localities, as at Mameyes, these owls were accused 

 also of eating gonduros ( Cajanus cajan ) , a species of legume, but without proof 

 of any kind. The damage in this case was probably also due to rats. 



Food. — Only five stomachs of the little bare-legged owl are available for ex- 

 amination, but the results are interesting. The food, as might be expected, is 

 entirely animal. Orthoptera (14 per cent) comprises roaches, crickets, grass- 

 hoppers, and one mantis. One stomach examined was filled entirely with 

 roaches, but this was not used in tabulation, as it was obtained from a native, 

 and among the natives it is common to keep these birds in houses, where they 

 feed extensively on roaches. One bird had eaten a mole cricket (Scapteriscus 

 didactylus) , a food which at night should be easily found by owls. Caculos 

 or May beetles (Lachnosterna sp.), so destructive in many localities, were found 

 in three of the five stomachs and amount to 24.4 per cent. One bird had eaten 

 eight of them. Feeding at night, the little owl is peculiarly adapted to secure 

 them, and w T ith its capacious stomach can destroy large numbers. Cane weevil 

 root-borers (Diaprepes spengleri) were found in two stomachs and amount to 

 1.8 per cent. Other snout beetles, mainly scarred-noseid weevils (Otiorhyn- 

 chidae), amount to 1.2 per cent, and miscellaneous beetles, longicorns, click 

 beetles, and dung beetles form 8.4 per cent. Lepidoptera (7.8 per cent) are 

 represented by a caterpillar eaten by one bird and moths taken by two. Lizards 

 (10.8 per cent) were eaten by four birds, and evidence keen sight on the part 

 of the owl. In two stomachs were found birds (17 per cent), one of which was 

 a redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) and the other a Carib grassquit (Tiaris b. 

 omissa). Miscellaneous animal matter (14.5 per cent) was composed largely 

 of scorpions, which were swallowed, sting and all, and odd fragments of Hemip- 

 tera, none of them of much importance. 



