The Jasper news. [volume] (Jasper, Missouri) 1898-1924, 1908-07-09
BARN, scREEcH AND sAW-WHET
VARIETIES WAR ON RATS,
MICE, GRAssHoPPERs.
ONLY ONE INJURIOUS KIND
Horned Owl Destroys Poultry and
Game Birds and Has Fondness for.
Skuni; Many Other Points In
Connection with Day-sleepers.
BY EDWARD 3. CLARK.
associate Member American Ornithol
ogists' Union)

ogists' Union.)
Copyright. Joseph B. Bowles)
For many centuries owls have been
objects of superstition on the part of
the unthinking. The feeling exists to.
day, and to some extent is responsible
for. the killing of these beneficial
birds every time they are bold enough
to show themselves in daylight.
With the possible exception Of the
great horned owl, the bird whose dis
NAL hoot strikes terror to the heart of
the belated night wanderer, the owls
do much more good than harm. The
lives of most of them are as innocent
as is the life of the canary, and yet.
with the hawks, they are marks for
the shotgun of every farmer.
If Dick Wilmington had taken a
barn owl with him instead of cat
the lord mayorsbip Of London would
not have been the limit of the political
rewards for his sagacity. One barn
| and ratter.
The bird gets its name from Its
habit OF nesting frequently in barns,
| where 1t hides during the day to sally
| forth at night on its work of ridding
| the farmers corn cribs and other
structures Of injurious rodents. The
barn owl Is not as numerous as 1t was
in former years, the chief reasons be-
ing that 1t is shot frequently on sight
by the farmer, who thinks 1t is a
chicken thief. and by the collectors,
who have the mistaken impression
that bird looks better stuffed like
mummy and placed in glass case
than it does when enjoying the liberty
which is it's birthrlght. Observations
made by Dr. A. X Fisher for the
biological survey have shown fairly
conclusively that the barn owl (Strix
pratincola) is probably the most valu-
able rat and mouse catcher In the
United States.
Most of the sins that are laid at the
door OF the other owls are committed
by the great horned owl (Bubo vir.
ginianus), a savage and powerful bird,
which In some sections of the country
destroys annually large numbers OF
poultry and game birds. There is,
however, another side to the life of
| this night terror. 1t is as fond of
rodents as 1t is of poultry, and 1t
feeds large quantities of them to its
nestlings. In and near nest which
contained young horned owls there
were found the remains OF l13 house
rats. When there is taken In consid
Grafton the fact that the young are In
the nest comparatively short time
the value Of the work done by the
parents in Kidding the world OF vermin
| can be appreciated.
1t is only fair to say. however. that
into the scale must be thrown the
damage that the bird does. DR.. C
Hart Merriam reports that there came
under his observation an instance
where a great horned owl decapitated
three turkeys and several chickens In
a single night. Like the shrlke, bird
whose habits were described In a
previous article, the great horned
owl dearly loves brains. II chickens
be plentiful and the danger of ap
proach be slight the owl will live or
brains entirely. leaving the bodies ol
its victims to the four-footed prowlers
Of the night who are not above dining
at the second table.
Bubo virginianus likes varied diet
In one nest or on the ground directly
beneath 1t were found the remains Of
mouse. muskrat, two eels. foul
bullheads, woodcock, four ruffet
grouse. one rabbit and II rats. The
bird in one direction has perverted
taste. 1t is extremely fond of skunks