.4 92 
FOREST AND STREAM, 
[June 20 , 1896. 
FOOD OF THE BARN OWL 
(Strix pratincola). 
In a recent number of Science Dr. Fisher gives the fol- 
lowing interesting results of his examination of the rejects 
of the barn owl. Facts such as these are worth remem- 
bering by sportsmen whose habit of carrying guns ex- 
poses them to peculiar temptation: 
It is well known that birds of prey disgorge the indi- 
festible portions of food, such as hair, bones and feathers, 
hese are formed into balls, known as "pellets" or "re- 
jects," by the muscular action of the stomach, and are 
regurgitated before a new supply of food is taken. The 
"pellets" contain the skulls, teeth and other parts of the 
victims, and furnish a perfect index to the food eaten. 
In a work on "The Hawks and Owls of the United States," 
published in 1893, 1 recorded the results of the examina- 
tion of 200 "pellets" or "rejects" of the barn owl taken 
from one of the towers of the Smithsonian Institution, 
Washington, D. C, June 28, 1890. Since that time 475 
more have been collected— 125 Sept. 14, 1892, and 350 
Jan. 8, 1896, making in all a total of 675 "ppJlets." This 
abundant material has been carefully examined and 
found to contain the remains of 1,821 mammals, birds and 
batrachians, as shown in the following table: 
1119 Meadow Voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus). 
4 Pine Voles (Microtus pinetorum). 
452 House Mice {Mas musculus), 
134 Common Rats (Mus decumanus). 
1 White- footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus). 
20 Jumping Mice (Zapus hudsonicus). 
1 Eabbit (Lepus sylvaticus). 
33 Short-tailed Shrews (Blarina brevicauda). 
21 Small Short-tailed Shrews (Blarina parva). 
1 Star-nosed Mole (Condylura cristata). 
1 Brown Bat (Vesperugo fuscus). 
2 Sora Rails (Porzana Carolina). 
4 Bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus). 
3 Red- winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phceniceus). 
1 Vesper Sparrow (Poocoztes gramineus). 
10 Song Sparrows (Melospiza fasciata). 
4 Swamp Sparrows (Melospiza georgiana). 
1 Swallow (Petrochelidon)? 
1 Warbler (Dendroica). 
6 Marsh Wrens (Cistothorus palustris). 
2 Spring Frogs (Rana pipiens)? 
A glance at this list will demonstrate to any thought- 
ful person the immense value of this useful bird in keep- 
ing noxious rodents in check. Moreover, judging from 
the species in the list, it may be seen that the barn owl 
hunts almost exclusively in open country, such as culti- 
vated fields, meadows and marsh lands, where such pestB 
do most damage. In Germany, according to Dr. Bernard 
Altum (Journal/. Omithologie, 1863, pp. 43 and 217), the 
barn owl feeds extensively on shrews. In 703 "pellets," 
a number only slightly greater than that which I exam- 
ined, he found remains of 1,579 shrews, an average of 
over two to each "pellet," while our 675 "pellets" con- 
tained only 54 shrews, an average of one skull to each 12£ 
pellets. On the other hand, our material contained the 
remains of 2£ mice to each "pellet," or 93 per cent, of the 
whole mass. The birds, which constitute about 4f per 
cent, of the owl's food, are in the main speeies of little 
economic importance. A. K. Fisher. 
THE COPPERHEAD. 
Oakland, Cal., May 24.— Editor Forest and Stream: 
There is considerable evidence in the late numbers of the 
Forest and Stream that the snake season is close at 
hand. Indeed, two or three of your correspondents have 
already entered the field, and while they apologized in 
most cases for being a little premature, I regard that as 
merely a subterfuge to cover the fear that someone would 
get ahead of them. 
Now, I am in search of a little information myself on 
that perennially absorbing topic, and where could I better 
look for it than in these columns? Doubtless you have a 
talented snake editor, who will be fully equal to the 
emergency; then there is Brother Hough, whose ex- 
haustive researches into the hoopsnake enigma entitle 
him to a very high position in reptilian literature, and 
lastly, many astute correspondents, some of which I feel 
sure will not only be able but pleased to throw all the 
light required upon the subject. 
What I want is a description of the appearance and 
habits of the copperhead. Not the genus with which so 
many of us were familiar during the late war, but the 
simon pure ophidian of that name. 
I have killed rattlesnakes in nearly every State and 
Territory west of the Missouri except in the extreme 
northern tier, and learned disquisitions, some of which 
declare this to be the only really deadly reptile in the 
United States, are to be found in all the large libraries of 
the land, but I have never yet seen a copperhead either 
living or dead, and when I began to realize this serious 
defect in my experience and started in to rpmedy it, I 
found such an inexplicable dearth of authentic informa- 
tion available that the results were of a most dishearten- 
ing and negative character— that is to say that, although 
before the investigation I thought I had settled a few 
points about copperheads, I concluded afterward that I 
knew nothing whatever concerning them, and began even 
o doubt their existence. 
| IFirst I visited the reptile departments in the different 
museums in San Francisco, but while I found an abun- 
dance of snakes from all parts of the world I found no 
copperheads from our own country or any other. Then 
I consulted the encyclopedias. A search in the American 
was fruitless; they, were not mentioned— at least not 
under that name. The Britannica briefly stated that they 
were a slow, venemous snake, usually found in wet 
places, under stumps, in swamps, etc. ; but their habitat 
was not very definitely given, and as I did not believe 
they were found in England, Scotland or even Ireland, it 
was not quite clear to me how they could know so much 
more about them than our own savants. Finally I 
turned to the snake sharps of my acquaintance, and the 
enthusiasm with which my inquiries were received 
seemed to promise the most gratifying revelations. There 
was, in fact, every indication that I had at last struck the 
right trail. 
One began by telling me how his grandfather and 
father had slaughtered them when they first settled in 
Indiana; another reported that the county in Kentucky 
ad3oining the one in which he was born was just alive 
with them, and a third gave me a thrilling account of a 
desperate fight one of his neighbors had with one that had 
attempted to drive him out of a 10-acre field. All this 
was certainly very encouraging, but when I pressed them 
to give me something from their own experience their 
eyes assumed a far-away look and they for the most part 
acknowledged that they had never seen one. One or two, 
whose zeal to impart information aroused a suspicion that 
their memory might be defective, declared that they had 
killed them when they were boys, but even they were un- 
able to describe them in any satisfactory manner. None 
would say that they had personally known anyone who 
had been bitten by one, but agreed that in point of venom 
the cobra, rattlesnake or fer-de-lance was not "in it" with 
a copperhead. 
In my boyhood the people of my section were firm be- 
lievers in three remarkable kinds of snakes. The most 
formidable of these was the hoopsnake, with a spear or 
horn in the end of its tail so deadly that a wound from it 
was speedily fatal to all life, either animal or vegetable. 
This delectable creature was said to be so irascible that it 
promptly attacked anything that came in sight by taking 
its tail in its mouth, getting up on edge and sailing in 
with or without provocation. 
Then there was the blue racer, with a white ring around 
its neck, very long and slender, and able to outrun the 
fastest horse by traveling along on top of the brush with- 
out touching the ground ; and lastly the joint snake, which 
when pursued could separate itself into sections and 
make its escape by several different routes, resuming its 
normal condition at leisure after the danger was over. 
All the solid facts about these phenomenally gifted rep- 
tiles were minutely instilled into my receptive brain in 
early childhood, but not a word was said about the cop- 
perhead, and although for nearly twenty years I have 
been a regular reader and correspondent of Forest and 
Stream, the mystery enshrouding them is as deep to me 
as ever. Information from any reliable source will there- 
fore be gratefully received, only the neighbor and grand- 
father variety being barred. Forked Deer. 
[Notwithstanding our correspondent's doubts of the 
copperhead, it does exist, and this is its description: 
Hazel brown in color, the top of head bright coppery; 
back with a series of fifteen to twenty-five dark blotches, 
having something the form of an inverted Y; yellowish 
beneath, with dark blotches. It is 3ft. or more in length. 
The general form of the body is stout, and the head flat 
and triangular, something like that of a rattlesnake. The 
copperhead belongs to the genus Ancistrodon, of which 
there are two species, confined to eastern North America. 
The range of the copperhead is from New England to 
Florida, and from the Atlantic to the Mississippi. It is an 
inhabitant of the uplands and is sometimes called "high- 
land moccasin," The water moccasin, which belongs to 
the same genus, is a common snake of the swamps of the 
South from the Carolinas to Texas; it seldom exceeds 4ft. 
in length and is said to be very venomous; it is an active 
swimmer. These species are closely related to the fer-de- 
lance (Trigonocephalus), which is found in South America 
and in some of the West Indian islands.] 
BEARS IN THE NORTHWEST. 
Tacoma, Wash. — Editor Forest and Stream: I read 
the paper by Dr. Merriam in the last number of your val- 
ued publication with keen interest. As bear stories are a 
never failing fund of amusement to the young, so also 
bearology (with apologies for the term) is an inexhaust- 
ible subject for study and investigation by the lover of 
nature. 
There is no animal among the larger fauna of this 
coast which is more ubiquitous than the black bear. He 
is with us in force, and whether we wade the noisy stream 
in quest of the gamy trout, or thread the tangled mazes 
of the salal berry bushes in pursuit of the big blue grouse, 
our old friend Ursus euarctus is pretty sure to show up, 
either by signs or in his own person, before the day is 
done. 
The vaBt hordes of salmon which twice annually swarm 
into every river and stream in this country fall easy vic- 
tims to the skill of the sly old ursine fisherman ; and his 
inordinate love of the sport of raking the pools with his 
long claws, and standing guard over a shallow riffle to flip 
a toothsome fish far out on shore, often overcomes his 
natural timidity, so that when intent upon his amusement 
it is often possible to fish right up to him. It has been 
my good fortune to gain very near approach to four dif- 
ferent bears in this way in a single afternoon. And then 
in the fall, when nature spreads her bountiful feast of 
berries and fruits, old Mrs. Bear goes smashing around 
among the berry bushes with her double litters of cub's 
trailing after her, all scooping handfuls of fruit and leaves 
into their mouths ani pushing for the fullest bushes. 
Two factors tend to foster and protect the bears in this 
region. The first of these is the variety and abundance of 
the food supply, the second the impenetrable character of 
the cover. Incidentally it might be mentioned also that, 
with one exception, the hunters in this country have no 
trained bear dogs and do not hunt bears systematically. 
The mildness of the climate here, together with the fact 
that the salmon afford abundant food until after mid- 
winter, sufficiently explains the very short period of hi- 
bernation. Indeed, in favored localities the bear is 
scarcely in retirement, and one of the liveliest impromptu 
bear hunts I have had here was after Christmas. 
Uncle Ursus was at home that day, all curled up under 
the burned end of a big fir tree, and a little lazy about 
getting his boots on for a run. He had dined sumptuous- 
ly the previous night upon a good fat sheep, and his big 
soft bed of ferns was too alluring to leave. And so he 
lingered until my little spaniel Jimmy poked his nose 
against his furry ribs. Then he came out with a mighty 
snort, and amid a cloud of whirling leaves; and he was so 
rattled that he forgot to look for the owner of the dog and 
came rip, smash, against said owner's legs, and man, bear 
and dog got suddenly mixed up. If this particular bear 
had been endowed with the sense of a Bowery sneak-thief 
he might have got away unobserved among the confusion 
his sudden appearance created; but he did not sneak, he 
went for an adjacent tree. This hide shows a white patch 
under the throat, and I have observed this in many in- 
stances. Two cubs, litter mates, brought in this week, 
bear this mark. 
Speaking of cubs reminds me that much confusion ex- 
ists, even in the minds of pretty well informed persons, 
about the relative size and age of cubs when they are first 
brought out in the spring. They are seen here in late 
March and early April, and are then as large as a small 
cocker spaniel. As they are born naked and blind, 
and do not open their eyes until 21 days old, they are 
at least 2 months old. At this time they are funny 
looking little fellows, with abnormally big ears and pro- 
tuberant eyes, rather long tan colored legs and a some- 
what scant coat of long grayish hair. They are lively 
fighters at this early age, and if you should essay to pick 
one up you will do well first to throw your coat over him. 
Neglect to observe this precaution cost a companion some 
pain and disfigurement last year. 
The great majority of bears killed here are caught in 
steel traps. Few are still hunted, though this method is 
not impracticable. The hunter above referred to as the 
owner of a bear pack has killed very many bears before 
his hounds; but the last of this pack was killed by an irate 
bear last fall, and there are very few untrained dogs that 
will trail a bear. 
In bear killing, as in any other kind of shooting, the 
question of caliber is intimately blended with holding on 
to the game. I have seen a bear shamble off into cover 
and be lost when shot more than twice by a .40-82 at easy 
range, and I have seen a bear dropped dead in his tracks 
at long range by a single .38-55 in the hands of a steady 
and accurate shooter. 
We have a character here in the person of a Schwabian 
rancher, a native of the hill country of Vaterland, whose 
specialty is killing bears with a revolver; and his exploits 
in this direction are well attested, and his success quite 
phenomenal. He trapped an old female last March, killed 
her and her mate, two yearlings and three young cubs, 
all with his revolver and between sunset and dark. He 
handles the little weapon with great skill. 
J. A. Beebe, M. D. 
Michigan Birds. 
Central Lake, June 9. — Our first hummingbird was 
seen May 17. We thought that we heard one a week 
earlier, but were not certain. 
I drove a few miles north last week on roads not far 
eastward from the shore of Grand Traverse Bay, and was 
much gratified at the sight of some of my old fiiends. 
There was a quail near the road and quite tame, also 
meadowlarks and bobolinks and a black squirrel, the last 
being very rare in this region. The quail have been liv- 
ing for a year or two not far from Norwood, and efforts 
have been made to protect them, with good results, but I 
do not think that they have yet become numerous — 
scarcely common. 
The meadowlarks and bobolinks have been common 
twenty miles south of this village for a number of years, 
and have gradually worked their way northward along 
the roads, but have not ventured far inland— I suppose 
because the large bodies of timber seemed unattractive. 
These are gradually disappearing and soon the birds may 
take a wider range. 
The catbirds, which for some years have built their nest 
in a bush close to our coffee mill (probably because they 
liked its music), have not returned this year and we fear 
the worst. There is a pair of orioles, however, and these, 
with the brown thrushes, make the morning air vocal 
when they are not too busy with their housekeeping ar- 
rangements. Robins are very common, and I think there 
are many more small birds about than ever before. Not 
a bluebird, however, has been seen. Yellowbirds are 
quite numerous. 
At a more convenient opportunity I have a few words 
to say concerning trout, of which the catch seems to have 
been better this Beason than usual. Also of the trout- 
horse. Likewise regarding a farmer, a wolf and a hem- 
lock knot. Kelpie. 
Feathered Strangers Near New York. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Dr. Grinnell's note in your issue of May 23 on the 
occurrence of the starling in Audubon Park recalls a 
rather singular experience I had in the upper part of New 
York city one morning in November, 1895. While rid- 
ing down Riverside Drive my attention was attracted, 
near 112th street, by an unfamiliar bird note. It was a 
somewhat metallic, tinkling chorus, which I found was 
uttered by a flock of seventeen starlings perched in the 
topmost branches of the tall, leafless trees on the banks of 
the river. A few blocks further down I saw seven more 
starlings, and fancied I heard the flight-note of the Euro- 
pean goldfinch, a bird which sometimes visits Riverside 
Park. 
English sparrows, it is needless to say, were abundant, 
and I was mentally commenting on the fact that our 
city avifauna should be so largely composed of foreign- 
ers, when in one of the saplings bordering the Drive I 
saw a strange-looking, small, green bird which for a 
moment was a puzzle. On closer inspection it proved to 
be a Madagascar paroquet or gray-headed love bird (Aga- 
pornis cana). Doubtless it had escaped from confinement, 
but its plumage was in excellent condition and it flew 
with all the vigor of a wild bird. The English sparrows 
were much excited over the appearance of this newly- 
arrived emigrant. They had evidently decided that its 
presence was undesirable, and the poor little paroquet's 
first impressions of New York life were doubtless far 
from pleasing. Frank M. Chapman. 
American Museum ov Natural HistsoitY, June 5. 
Quail Breeding. 
New York, May 20. ^-Editor Forest and Stream: For 
three years I have endeavored to raise quail in a small in- 
closure about 10ft. square and 2ft. high, covered with 
mesh wire, on the roof of a shed in the rear of my house. 
I put in lOin. of soil and have very good grass. It has 
been a failure steadily until this year, in the beginning 
largely through the food. The present pair I have had 
exactly a year and a half, and last summer they failed to 
mate, I think, because I had another cock in the same in- 
closure. However, this year they were alone and mated, 
built a neBt under a board supported by two uprights, Sin. 
high, on which they invariably roost. About this I have 
some branches, and there was considerable dead grass, of 
which they built their nest, the male doing most of the 
work. There are, I think, nine eggs in the nest now. 
I feed the birds lettuce, buckwheat and the half of an 
apple daily the entire year* and it seems to be the only 
food they thrive on; I have some very finely pulverized 
oyster shells in the tray with the buckwheat. I discovered 
their fondness for apples last year through feeding a 
rabbit I had in their place awhile. 
Now if they should continue to lay and should hatch 
