The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-02-08
crRIors WAYS on Owls.
son,. see by Day as Wen as by
Nirht-GhOstIy Birds.
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
..,rv one who has tramped much
.,-,,,sb the woods" said an observant
',,.',rsyl,aniain woodsman, knows now
,3,r, II is that he sees an owl of any
5.g.rinrion. and also how equally rare it
". 80 oct q. shot at a hawk, although many
may be seem s,- +ha
do. hunter seldom sees an owl while
,rsrns one reason is that some owls
,,nnot see by day, and therefore select
1-'lt,,, f-aces which render their diseov-
lil,,'' ~ tn impossible as a person passes
-as,,a1Iv through the woods. The other
or is that there are some owls that
70 I,i dav as well as night. These double
seclVtSd birds discover the intruder long
sSi57.,,rro he IAN possibly see them, and they
lose no time in seeking pItees oA $500
afetv There are owls whose eyeslght
Soas not depend on darkness to be or use:
Tbe screech owl and the long-eared owl
are among the members OF the FANNY tndt
re minded or partially blinded, Dy the
Gbt If daV Others, among them the moot
vi and the snow owl, the hawk Owl ana
w w short -eared OWL are sharp sighted
III hv dav and by night The Short-ear-
~ or,i is a great field-mouse hunter in
.te9t ar rye stubble. He is among the
frst of the family of winter owls that
came down from the north to forage IN
"a" aEsrIy in the season quail hunters
working in wheat stubble, especially IN
Western Pennsylvania and Eastern ONO,
ara frequently surprised by the SlSnt
of a pair of big birds rising Suddenly
rom the field and gliding away, few
feet above the stubble, as noiseless as
Ghosts and as swift as shadows These
Are short-eared owls hunting. for field
mice one might scare up 800 OF these
owls at once and they would make
scarcely any more, noise than so many many
h1tterfies. Ghostly silence in flight
characterizes all species of owls.
Hawks fly noiselessly, too. These
birds depend on stealth in seeking their
nrev i won't do for them to have any
P Pii about their hunting There is
another peculiar thing about the short
cared owls If the hunter finds them
on piece of stubble he will not lind any
other game birds there. The only way
that | can explain that fact is that the
owl knows instnctively that the game
bird IS liable to be hunted and that, con
more securely if he goes where the
ouails do not come. The short-eared
owl is a favorite with collectors, its
coat of cream color and brown feathers
seeming especially to be admired.
THE rarest of all owls is the hawk
owl, the snow owl and the long-eared
owl. the hawk owl 1 never saw in
Pennsylvania, but have shot it in East
ern New York and in Connecticut. There
is little owl called the sawet which
is sometimes plentiful and sometimes
scarce. lnGSG OWLS are Dllnu DIS DdlS III
the daytime, and when dawn approaches
they rOOst in the first place that appeals
TO them. Consequently we often see them
sitting on fence rails, window sills, gate
posts and house roofs, just as well as in
the woods. II is no trick to knock them
over with stick at such times. There
is curious thing about the day-blind
owls and that is that they are all sum-
mer owls, and go south on the approach
of cold weather
owls have a peculiar way of eating.
They swallow their food bones and ALL BY
some process the bones, fur and feath-
ers are all rolled UP in small balls in the
Owls stomach. When | was boy | be-
came aware of this, and it was great sport
for me to search in the woods for trees
under which could discover these elected
balls. That was a sure indication that
rOugh-egged hawk or some species of owl
made that tree its roosting place. Taking
long pole and fastening on one end a
stout steel trap would bait the trap with
mouse or some other thing the birds
were fond of, and then push the trap into
the branches of the tree, and tie the pole
last. | seldom failed to find hawk or an
owl fast in the trap when ] went to look
after 1t. once ] captured a magnificent
snowy owl in that way. He was unin-
Jured except where the trap held his leg.
After great struggle-for a wounded owl
is one Of the worst customers to fool with
! tied, his legs together and his great
wings down. and started proudly home
ward with my prize. | carried with me an
oid single-barreled gun. The time was in
the Iais ana on my way home | laid the
owl on the ground while | stopped to
gather hickory nuts. While thus engaged
discovered yellowjackets going in and
Out OF hole in the ground. / knew at
once that the hole was the entrance to
nest of these lively insects. 1 took my
gun, and going close to the hole fired into
II and took to my heels. Looking back af-
leT / mad run safe distance Ifsaw the
yelIow-jackets swarming angrily out of
Jher d.smantied home. The sound of the
gun mad startled the owl, and he had f1ut-
Tered about bound as he was. That flut-
Ter was fatal to him. The savage yellow
jackets saw the movement and settled
down on the helpless bird until his coat
was as yellow as gold. Wherever the
creatures could find a spot to sink a sting
fr they sank one and in spite of his
ponds the poor owl rolled and tumbled
creeping behind a fallen tree until | was
near enough almost to touch the owl with
the end OF the barrel. shot the big bird S
t1r0ugn INV hnNlsh rnlsnhinf ., -