The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-09-28

until warm weather arrives.
 The barred owl does not visit the
 barn-yard nearly so often as his big 1 horned cousin, and out of one hundred
 and nine stemachs examined by Mir Fisher, only five contained poultry or game, while forty-six contained mice
 and eighteen contained other man.
 nals.
 1 The only other very large owl we are l likely to see in the eastern states is the
 snowy owl which is not resident of | this country, but which Wanders down 1 from northern Canada every winter. This large white bird cannot be mis- | taken for any other. It is usually more | or less barred with brown, but some | specimens are pure white. The feet are heavily feathered, possibly to protect them from the cold and possibly to | prevent them from sinking too deep when they alight upon newly fallen snowg The snowy owl Is not noct urnal
 but hunts its prey in broad daylight and I have seen him sitting on a dead
 tree above marsh for hours, waiting for something to turn up. It is very fast flyer and often captures birds upon thewing. It breeds from Labrador mort Inward and it's nest is made upon the ground.
 Another owl which is fond of the open country rather than the woods is the
 short-e cared owl, @ bird of much smaller
 size than any of the preceding, meas
 uring about fifteen and q half inches in
 length, where it hunts, sometimes by
 day and sometimes by night. This
 bird seldom or never visits the barn
 yard, and of one hundred and seven
 stomachs examined by Fisher not one
 contained poultry. The report shows
 that eleven stomachs contained small
 birds seventy seven, mice; seven, oth- CT mammals; seven, insects, and four
 teen were empty.
 The nest of the short cared owl is made upon the ground in the grassy marshes where the bird spends much of its time The eggs are from four to sev- en in number, and like the eggs of all other owls, they are white.
 The long cared owl is about the same size as the short-eared. but apart from the difference in markings, it may be distinguished from the latter on sight, by the presence of two conspicuous ear tufts. which rise full inch above the top of its head. It is a strictly noctur- nal bird, and usually spends it's days in some bit of dark woodland, where it often looks so much like the bark of the tree on which it sits, that 1t is passed by unobserved
 This owl usually lays in April in the old nest of a hawk, crow or squirrel. The eggs are from three to six in num- Der. Out of one hundred and seven stomachs examined by MT. Fisher, eighty four contained mice, while not a single one contained poultry.
 The little screech owl, which makes its home in the hollow apple trees in the orchards, and sometimes in corner of the barn, is too well known to re- quire a description. The fact that this species has two distinct color phases red and gray-not dependent on age. j sex or time of year, is now well recog- nzed, though for a long time it was a source of many mistakes, particularly on the part of the early ornithologists. Some of these thought that the red birds were the males and the gray ones lIlP IeI1ldISS, CT NlCS VtISd dHu OlHcis that the two colors marked the difference between the young and adult | birds, respectively.
 Although this little owl Is quite 1 and frequently enters farm buildings, he rarely commits a theft. l Mr. Fisher examined two hundred and | ffty-five stomachs, and out, of that | number only one contained poultry. | On the other hand, one hundred con- i tained insects, and over one hundred I mice and other mammals.
 The smallest owl in eastern North | America is the Saw whet," so called | from the fack that it's noise somewhat resembles the sound produced by fill- ng a saw We know this little fellow chiefly as a winter visitors as Ae seldom breeds south of northern New York He is only eight inches In length and | re often takes advantage of his dirnin- ltive size to make his home in the hole axcavated by woodpecker and some irnes he will incidentally kill and eat he rightful occupant. His favorite ood seems to be mice and out of twen- y-two stomachs examined by MT. Fisher, seventeen contained the re- mains of these destructive little TO- Tents.
 ERNEST HAROLD BAYNES.