No. 21. PENNSYLVANIA STATE COLLEGE. 247 
of our State. The Snowy, which rears its family in the Arctic wilds, 
is found here only as an irregular winter sojourner. Some persons 
not versed in ornithological matters, name both the Snowy Owl and 
Barn Owl “White” or “Snowy” Owls. Such local names, used to 
designate the Barn Owl, are confusing and should be discarded. 
Owls, other than the Long-eared and Short-eared species, are 
usually observed singly; those that breed here, of course, are often 
during the breeding period seen in pairs and with their young. In 
winter Long-eared and Short-eared Owls are found generally in 
flocks. Long-eared Owls breed in many localities, in fact quite gen- 
erally throughout the State, and owing to the circumstance that 
sometimes they roost, in the daytime, in cedar trees, they are termed 
by many “Cedar” Owls. The Short-eared owls frequent meadows, 
swamps and grassy fields. Hunters who most frequently come 
across these birds in the fall and winter time know them as “Marsh” 
or “Swamp” Owls. The Short-eared Owl is common in winter and 
is said to breed here in rare instances. Both the Long and Short- 
eared Owls should be protected by the farmer and fruit grower, as 
these birds live almost exclusively on mice. 
The Barred Owl is a resident and breeds generally throughout 
the State; it is most numerous in the mountainous and wooded dis- 
tricts. In different parts of Wayne, Susquehanna and Wyoming 
counties, where four or five years ago the Barred Owl was very com- 
mon, it is called “Rain” Owl, as it was asserted its dismal cry was 
most frequently heard before a storm. To distinguish an owl from 
a hawk remember the owl’s eyes are situated in the front of the head 
and look forward, while the hawk’s eyes are directed to either side. 
The extremely soft and downy plumage of owls is such that their 
flic *t is almost noiseless. During the daylight we usually find them 
cou ed in hollow trees or dense foliage. While it is generally 
ana epted fact that owls are nocturnal in their habits it is not true 
that they are exclusively so. The Short-eared and Barred Owls 
are of a decidedly diurnal nature, and in cloudy weather or in early 
twilight it is not unusual to see the Great Horned Owl sally forth 
in quest of prey. 
Owls, unlike certain other birds of prey, never, it is stated, unless 
reduced to the utmost extremity, feed on carrion, but subsist on such 
food as they are able to kill. Their dietary, although variable with 
locality and circumstances, consists mainly of small quadrupeds 
(principally mice), insects, chiefly beetles and grasshoppers and some 
few of the smaller kinds of wild birds. With the exception of the 
Great Horned Ow! and perhaps the Barred, all the owls occurring 
regularly in this Commonwealth deserve the fullest protection which 
can be given to them by the farmer and horticulturist. 
