SOME OHIO BIRDS 
51 
and occasionally by day, especially if young - are in the nest. In lieu 
of a hollow tree, the abandoned nest of a Hawk or Crow is used, the 
eggs being - usually deposited by the middle of February. Not in¬ 
frequently the egg-s are spoiled by freezing during unusually severe 
weather. This Owl is the most destructive of all our Raptors. 
Poultry of all kinds, including turkeys, all kinds of game birds, also 
Hawks and other Owls, with rabbits, squirrels, skunks, opossums, 
muskrats, and the smaller mammals, comprise the usual fare. If 
provender is plentiful, little except the heads of its victims are eaten. 
The depredations committed by this murderous Owl have brought 
maledictions on the heads of the useful species, both innocent and 
guilty suffering alike. In justice to the more beneficial members of 
the family, this species should be shown no mercy. 
LONG-EARED OWL, Asio wilsonianus (Less.) 
This Owl is probably more common than it appears to be, but 
because of its quite strictly nocturnal habits, it is not very fre¬ 
quently observed. Like most of the family, it is a bird of the woods. 
It is the only medium-sized Owl with prominent ear-tufts. Identifi¬ 
cation is easy, since it is so much larger than the Screech Owl 
and so much smaller than the Great Horned Owl. Mice and 
other small rodents, almost exclusively, comprise the food, and 
birds are seldom touched. It is one of the most beneficial of all 
Raptors and deserves full protection. 
SHORT-EARED OWL, Asio Jlaimneus (Pontop.) 
Unlike the Owls in general, this species frequents open meadows 
or swamp-land, where it hides in the rank growth of grasses and 
weeds on bright days, and hunts during cloudy weather or by twi¬ 
light. It hunts near the ground, seldom above three feet, and its 
flight is noiseless, easy and graceful. The nest is built on the 
ground among the herbaceous grow T th. Its principal diet is small 
rodents of which a very large percentage are destructive meadow 
mice. This species, with the Long-eared and the Barn Owl, forms a 
trio of feathered servants which is of very great economic im¬ 
portance to the agriculturist. 
HAWKS AND EAGLES 
Falcons, Hawks, and Eagles, are the durenialor daylight birds 
of prey. They are solitary birds, except during the breeding season, 
and resent the intrusion of others of their kind within the limits of 
their hunting range. In keeping with their cruel natures, their 
cries are loud and piercing, striking terror to the hearts of smaller 
creatures in fur and feathers and causing them to seek cover. With 
but few exceptions, these birds are beneficial and constitute nature’s 
