Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1886-12-15
HAWKS AND OWLS.
The Habits and Peculiarities Of
These Ominous Birds.
what Noted Hunter Knows About the
Different Species OF the Game ne
BaEs-The Rarest OwIs-Marsh
Hawks aa Mousers-
InpllI.tervIIIe rra.l Letter.I

IIIolllstcrvIIlo pa Lstter.I
Avg one who has ever tramped much
ehrough the woods knows how very sell
dom u 4. that he sees an owl, and how rare
the chances are for him TO got n shot at
hawk, although they are frequently enough
s~en; yet Wayne County has a hunter, old
Ziba Nutiall. who for years has hunted
aothing else but hawks aud owls, and he
claims that ho never goes out without
bagging three OF four owls OF different
species, and about the samo numb1r Of
hawks.
-Ihunt nothing but owls aud hawks."
be says "nnd IL didn't make money by
II don't think I'D hunt any thing else,
for 70 me no sport Is moro exciting. There
has been for several years a singular
craze abroad for the collecting OF these
blrls. aud the consequence has been
that wise hunter, have taken up the
business OF supplying these collectors with
them. There are two reasons why the or
binary everyday hunter never sees an
owl One IL that some owls can not see in
dAy -light, and therefore select hiding places
which rondor their discovery next 70 i'm
possible as . person passes casually
through tho WOO L. The other reason IL
that there are some owls that soc In the
daylight as we'll as at night. They dis
cover the intruder in their hauuts long be-
fore he can by any possibility see them,
and they at once seek places OF greater
safety. IL will DO news 70 many people
that owls can sec by daylight but II is q
fact, nevertheless. boliove that the
scrocch owl, tho long cared owl aud one or
two other species are the only members OF
the family who arc blinded by the sun
light Tho Others among them the boot
owl, the snowy owl, the hawk owl and the
Hhort-earod owl, are all sharp sighted, both
by day and night When you know how
~ hunt owls 10 will be no trouble for you
% fad them, for they are found every
vhcTo For instance, the sbort-eared owl
- great mouse hunter In wheat stubble.
He Is among the FIRST family Of winter owls
that como down from the north TO forage
In this latitude. OF all owls he gives the
most sport ~ the hunter. They frequently
hunt mice In ipckS Tho hunter, with his
gun ready, walks slowly about In tho stub
ble. II there are any owls thero he will
not have % walk long before be will see
may DO three rise from the ground at this
time Of the yoar a good gunshot distant
AZ white AMI silent as ghosts, and as swift
~ shadows, they glide away, n few feet
above the stubblo. They mako a largo
mark, but tho hunter must be handy with
his gun II he wings one. You might scare
up hundred OF these owls at once and
they would mako no more noise than a
butterfly. That Is a characteristic OF all
owls Hawks fly noisolesuly, too. These
I'LL 49, -. a. A IA a.
them 70 make any hustle about L.
"The rarest owls are the hawk owl, the
snowy owl and the long-sarod owl / never
saw hawk owl outside Of New England,
mono ever appeared In this region. There il
a little owl called the sawet, which Is some
times plenty and sometimes scarce. The
'awets arc blind as bats in the daytime,
and drop down TO rOost on tho first spot
they come 10 at roOsting time, which IL
dawn. Consequently you often see
tbem sitting on fence rails, window
rillS cato posts aud house roofs
just a' we'll rs In the woods II
Il no trick 10 knock them over with stick
at such times. Il Is curious thing
that the day-bl owls are summer owls,
and go south at tho approach Of cold
weather. The boot owl. or great
horned owl, stays In this latitude all the
year ns tho poultry houses Of tho farmers
can we'll testify. Owls swallow their food,
whether animal or fowl, bones and all.
BY some process the bones, fur and feath-
ers arO all rolled mp In small balls In the
birds stomach and are cast up Ia that
form. Some species OF hawk take thoir
food and eject the refuse la the same way.
When l was boy IL was great sport for
mo TO search In the woods 70 find trees
under which ! could find those elected
balls That was an indication that q
rough-legged hawk Or some species Of ow
made that favorite resting place. TAX
ing long pole aud fastening on one enc
Ot 10 q stout steel trap, baitod 10 will
some morsol the birds liked, aud theT
pushed the trap up into the tree and 20
cured the pole. l never failed to hnd
hawk or an owl fast In my trap
''lAS . rule, natural histories condemn
hawke as voracious marauders Of the farm
az wood. and convey the impression
which Il tho popular one, that they pre-,
on the innocent and useful members OF th'
foathered tribO exclusively. Hawks OF al
kinds are consequently placed under tn,
Ion OF the law, aud every mans hand maj
~ raised against them. That makes IL al
the palmer sailing for me, but don't minC
saying that u was q farmer would a
east remonstrate with every one VIII,
came upon my premises with the inten
ton Of shooting hawks irrespective o
Epeciea The hen hawk, chicken hawk anc
pigeon hawk may be put down a. birds .
will Be well 70 keep an eye on, and ia,
Oftenor that eye Il sighted over a gun ih,
~ - II
not prey on birds at all, OF only partially
but mako field mice and moles, the great
'Ost pest the farmer has. their chief diet
The cruel sparrow hawk OF the poet eat
nico almost exclusively, and the common
black hawk will not touch any thing els,
~ he can ind the same prey. The marul
hawk, that semi-nocturnal prowler 9,
dreaded by the farmer simply because o
the tradition that he IL constantly preyinR
from before daybr until late at night
On insectivorous and domestic birds on
tirely, new r hunts any thing but mice, an,
he u the most successful mouser In th
world. but not being q farmer. and beinl
hailed by them as benefactor In my wa
81 some Of their best feathered friends,
PCT money In my purse by keeping mum
eenerally speaking farmers and other
think that the hen hawk, the Ash hawk
and the sparrow hawk are all the hawk
there arr. but the fact IL that there ar
over twelve different species prowlin,
about the meadows and woods from earl,
spring until late fall They are all In DE-
msnd. and ! take them In whenever am
wherever zee q chance"
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young man out OF WORK began ped
ding lead pencils about Norristown. II,
liz manA lnln ...nnnlnnA....-a--an- - -