The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-29
THIS OWL DOTES ON CROW
AND 81 MARYLAND FARMERS HAZE
SPORT WITH TRICKY BIRDS.


The Number OF Crows in Maryiapd-TheiE
Wisdom and Their entineis-wRrrare %
the Bubo Owls Upon Thenh-Uses Made By the
Farmers OF the Owls in Hunting Crows.
ut doesn't seem that there could possibly be
any moro crows on the Patapsco and Gunpow'
der river bottoms in Maryland than thorc are
now" said John Gilbert, the travelling grocery,
man, but every farmer down there will tell
you that II It wasn't for the bubo owl there'd
&c twice as many. don't know ANYTHING aboue
a bubo owl, except what the honest farmers Of
those rich bottoms told me. l never saw one,
but | heard that this owl is Us big 90 a hawk
con SEQ In the daytime, as well as at night, and
dotcs on crow. Nothing seems to tickle the
palate OF the bubo, so they told mo, like crow,
The choice morsels OF other owls are chickonS
mice. and game birds. The bubo owl hket
chickens, m!co, and g0mo birds. too. but 10
will leave any one OF thom 10 dine on crow.
Having ey cS 10 see both by day and by night,
the bubo owl picks OFT its crows from thoin
roosts as well as captures them by daylight
raids on nocks that are intent on ~foraging. The
COWS down there seem to be ever expecting d
raid from some prowling bubo, and they post4
regular line Of sentinels about o fold when they
are foraging. or in the woods where they hold
their daily councils. They hole a council AZ
their roosts every morning uofore they go to
business for the day, and the farmers say that
at these councils the farms OF the locality are
partellcd out among tho colony SO there will b
no o~vercrowding OF a c%ornfold, thus avoiding
unpleasant and Improbable wrangline. Tbs
~sentine!s appointed take their posts and give
notice by a peculiar cry when they detect a bubo
prowllng about. Immediately u big forco q
crows is detailed from the field to hunt the bubd
out, and they seldom fail to find the hated foe.
They then attack him, bouncing upon him from
every sido. The owl is forced to fly by tho over
whelining forco hurled against him lie u
much sNifter on the wing than the crow, AID
gonorally succeeds in escaping intact rrvbHtlS
with one of bis assailants In each claw.
Knowing how difficult y Is for a man to ges
how futile arc ordinary devices 10 draw the
crow TO "a spot whore a IMAM with q gun Is lying
me. long ago o. discovsred the value Of the babS
owl az m aid in this respect; To do this suc-
TffhS e buBo ' Is no Ssf fosi ni %nsi h snd ri K /, h nc s Ss-
be would be Of no service dead. The noun.
Iqbo By means Of a live Chicken nsed in col
alteration viii a box trap, and they manage
When the farmer decides that the future
what, on the making Of a telling raid on orova
he takes bis bubo owl to a piece OF woods on hiA
tom, tom to car" H6ie IN his lne fa %2rH Sas been ssS0s shO sRs n 81 &c
crow council has begun operations there, he
ties the owl secore:y to a limb Of tree. giving
owl is tied at a spot where he may he seen from
the adiacen, eornieid. and 4 lie is not dis
field he viii soon DO dlbcove-ed by q sentinel,
for the .bubo viii forget no lie a prisoner. and
before long %il rise 10 make a ewoop down on
Jerk him back to the limb. though. But be has
and the ht't trows rise ,n and i'n MAKE s g dash ne for ei Sims
each one yelling voctferousiy It's anger.
The farmer. a hiroa man or two. and as many
mora nj tnH 4 ~ rs "a ~ in 4 1ntn In =
In ,hiding, in the bushes near the tree. each with
Q double-barrclled 4aotgun. As me crows come
more arc seen to come tumrlinR to the ground,
dead and wounded. The crows. demorahze6
RSs teS Ifn noh the a MSod deAds Na Sss4IiS 1 1he o o%a
rises from ITS enforced perch friEhlened. This
gather again and dash back to asssil him. The
masked battery opens on them again. and thetr
4 flock OF crows has been known to return
three times to the attack OF a decoy bubo. but
although the remnant of the flock will alignb
in some neighboring tree and discuss with
emor2us tongues The disaster that has Over
III any of the crows have been wounded 50
men IN ambush may be sure presently to have
still another shot. for a companion In distress 10
Ssip! 5o BY a a aFGg BY f she aist Is siSfy Cries sss e the 70
Wounded crows viii surely bring the Others
the ensuing fusillade viii leave the entire flock
victim to It's hatred of a foe and its anxiety To
aid a friend in need.
II said that the first volley would scare tho
bubo and he would rise TO fly, but. as they told
me down there, that will only be the case when
three or four trials the bubo understands what
he Is there for and enjoys it hugely. This 10
perhaps because he has learned that he gets
fcasts of Cow unlimited without having TO do
any Ia Ting for 1t. That's what the PatapscO
and Gunpowder River farmers think. One
hard workinR farmer told me that he had
heard ~ bubo owls that had become such
masters of the art OF crow-decoying that they
were not tied to the limb at all. but on the
contrary were at liberty TO go abroad and lurQ
crows from afar TO the ambush, and would
then sit apart from the carnage and Rloat.,
" But | never seen none o them bubo &c.
muses. said this farmer, and SO / reckon they
amt noways plenty