SCREECH OWL 
A SEARCH in the hollow trees of an old apple orchard will often reveal the 
presence of screech owls, some of which occupy the same hollow for many 
years. When surprised in daylight, these birds will set up a chattering of 
their bills like the sound of castanets, and will act quite dazed. 
At nightfall, however, they come to life; their ear tufts stand erect, their 
yellow eyes open wide, and they set up their weird, melancholy whistling, 
which superstitious persons of all ages have regarded as an evil omen. And 
at this time they begin their rounds, searching out barns, farmyards, corn 
cribs and fields for mice and insects. Though they kill an occasional chicken, 
they are far more beneficial than harmful. Of two hundred and fifty-five 
screech owl stomachs examined by an investigator only one contained 
remains of poultry; thirty-eight contained other birds, ninety-one contained 
mice and the remainder, other small creatures such as lizards, fishes and 
insects. 
None the less screech owls are unjustly persecuted by some farmers. 
Their other enemies are crows, jays and squirrels, who steal their eggs. 
Sometimes by day a flock of jays and cardinals will attack a screech owl, 
drive it off and pursue it with much scolding and chattering. 
This bird has two color phases, one gray, the other reddish brown. 
These phases do not depend on age, sex or season, and both phases are 
frequently represented in the same brood. 
Screech owls in the northern United States mate in May, and in the 
South even earlier. They build no nest, but lay their four to six white eggs 
in tree hollows. One observer reports that they go through an elaborate 
courtship ritual. The female is perched in a dark, leafy tree, “apparently 
oblivious of the presence of her mate.” The male hops about from branch 
to branch, bows, snaps, flaps his wings, drags his tail, and does everything 
in his power to attract her attention. Now and then he winks. He groans 
inwardly and finally sits down as though in utter dejection. Only then does 
his mistress “lower her haughty head.” 
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