i /4 
A Pioneer History oe Becker County. 
venient resting place when not despoiled of their quarry 
by the watchful Bald Eagle. 
hi. Eong-eared Owl ( Asio wilsonianus) . 
A common inhabitant of tamarack and white cedar swamps. 
Migrates south in the winter. 
112. Short-eared Owe ( Asio accipitrinus ). 
Common. A bird of the marsh and prairie, rarely, if ever, 
found in woodland. Summer resident only. 
113. Barred Owe (Syrnium nebulosum). 
A frequent species in heavy timber. 
114. Great Gray Owe ( Scotiaptex cinerea). 
Occasionally found in the winter time in the heavy forest. 
115. Richardson’s Owe ( Nyctala tengmalmi richardsoni) . 
A small owl, occurring occasionally in winter. 
116. Saw-whet Owe ( Nyctala acadica ). 
The smallest of our owls. A not uncommon permanent 
resident, nesting in deserted woodpecker holes. 
117. Screech Owl (Megascops asio). 
This is the common little owl that comes so fearlessly 
about farms, hunting for mice among the out-buildings and 
about the grain stacks. Remains through the winter. 
118. Great Horned Owl, Cat Owl (Bubo uirginianus). 
The commonest large owl. Found chiefly in heavy woods. 
This bird is large and powerful and very destructive to 
mammals and birds of many species. It kills a large num¬ 
ber of rabbits and works havoc among the Ruffed grouse 
during the late fall and winter season, when other food 
is not as easily obtained. 
The owls are, for the most part, beneficial to agricultural 
interests, as they destroy, in their nocturnal prowlings, an 
immense number of mice, other small injurious mam¬ 
mals, and insects, some of them of the most damaging 
varieties. The Great Horned and the Great Gray are 
the only two species an inventory of whose food would 
show the balance to be seriously against them. The farmer, 
who kills the smaller owls, is thoughtlessly destroying most 
valuable allies in the constant warfare which it is necessary 
to wage against his natural enemies. 
A light variety of the Great Horned Owl is known as 
the Arctic Horned Owl. 
