The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1908-09-03
sARN, sCREEcH AND sAW.WHET
VARIETIES WAR ON RATS,
MICE, oRAssHoPPERs
ONLY ONE INJURIOUS KIND
Horned Owl Destroys Poultry and
Game Birds and Has Fondness for.
skunk -. Many Other. Points In
Connection with Day-sIeepers.
BY EDWARD 3. CLARK.
associate Member American ornithol-
ogists' Union.)

ogsts' Union.)
Copyright, Joseph Il. 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
IL Dick Wilmington had taken a
barn owl with him instead Of cat
the lord mayorship of London would
not have been the limit of the political
rewards for his sagacity. One barn
owl is worth five cats as a mouser
and ratter.
The bird gets its name from Its
habit of nesting frequently in barns,
, where It 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,
| ,.,lx~ he .tCso olyAn iv,an no cSin inn
that bird looks better stuffed like a
mummy and placed in glass case
| than 1t does when enjoying the liberty
which is its birthright. 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 oi
poultry and game birds. There is
however, another side to the life ol
this night terror. 1t Is as fond Of
rodents as 1t is OF poultry, and II
feeds large quantities uf them to its
nestlings. In and near a nest which
contained young horned owls there
were found the remains of 113 house
rats. When there is taken In consld
Grafton the fact that the young are In
the nest a comparatively short time
the value Of the work done by the
parents In Kidding the world of vermir
can be appreciated
1t Is only fair to say, however, tha
into the scale must be thrown the
damage that the bird does. DR.. c
Hart Merriam reports that there came
under his observation an instanc,
where a great horned owl decapitatet
three turkeys and several chickens IL
single night. Like the shrike, birt
whose habits were described in 6
previous article. the great horned
owl dearly loves brains. II chickens
be plentiful and the danger of ap
proacb b. slight the owl will live OIL
brains entirely, leaving the bodies o
its victims to the fourfooted prowler
OF the night who are not above dining
at the second table.
Bubo virginianus likes a varied diet
In one nest or on the ground directl.
beneath 1t were found the remains o
a mouse. a muskrat, two cells. fou
bullheads. a woodcock. four ruffe,
grouse, one rabbit and IL rats. TIL,
bird in one direction has a perverted
taste. 1t is extremely fond of skunks
This animal is well armed against tn
attacks OF most OF its enemies. a
many man and beast can testify
but its weapon apparently is of n
avail against the horned owl. Tn
bird will kill and eat a skunk. and
with the almost overpowering ev
dence of the feast still clinging to 1t
feathers, will attack and dispatch ar
other. A fine specimen OF the grea
horned owl once came into my pos
session. There was every olfactor
token that 1t had recently dined oi
skunk. It was six months before tn
last trace of the odor left the bird