Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-07-29

Washington. D. c., July 26.-1n one
of the towers of the old building OF
the Smithsonian Institute here dwells
pair Of ordinary barn owls, which are
undoubtedly the two most important
owls in the United States. They-and
their ancestors for a dozen owl gen.
erations-have represented the whole
tribe of owls at the capital Of the Unit
ed States, and have established the
fact that they are not outlaws, but de-
serve the protection of their govern
ment.
Every day DR.. A. X. Fisher, Of the
Biological Survey, the governments
leading authority on owls, ascends IN
to the dark tower and examines the
daily report of these ambassadorial
birds. Said report is in the form Of
little balls of feathers, fur and bones,
which are disgorged by the birds after
they have eaten all the digestible por-
tons Of their prey. This indelicate
way Of feeding has been the salvation
of the owls. Formerly all hawks and
owls were supposed to be destructive
to poultry and game and songbirds,
and were accordingly killed on sight.
For quarter of century the scien-
fists of the Biological Survey have
been working hard to prove that most
species of raptorial birds are. really
worth money to man because Of the
warfare they wage upon rats, mice,
gophers and other destructive rodents
The steady patrol of the hawks by
day and the owls by night Is all that
prevents these rats and mice OF field
and orchard from literally eating man
of the face of the earth. i -.
Now in order to establish the in
nocence of most of these birds 1t has
been necessary to go out and XIII
thousands of them, so that the con-
tents of their stomachs should be ex-
amined. Not so the barn owls, how
ever. They were ready to meet any
peace overtures half way. About the
year 1853 so far as the records show,
the first pair of barn owls set up
housekeeping in this same tower OF
the Smithsonian building. Prof
Spencer F. Baird, a we'll known scien-
fist who was then secretary OF the
institute, noted their presence and
mentioned them in a report. These
owls in time persisted of old age, but
some of their descendants remained
to occupy the old family homestead
in the tower, and to range the parks
and grounds of the capital and the
! marshes across the river for their
prey. At times there have been as
many as three pair Of owls nesting
in the tower; and it has never been
vacant for nearly half century.
About 1890 Prof. Fisher Of the Bio
logical Survey, first became Interested
in the Smithsonian owls. When the
building was repaired he saw to it that
pane of glass was left out of the
tower window, so that the owls would
not be locked out Of their house. About
that time, too, he began his study Of
their diet and his continued 1t ever
since-just about a quarter of CEN
fury. 1t Is safe to say that this Is the
most extended study of the diet of any
bird that has ever been made.
Needless to say. this long study has
conclusively proved that the barn owl,
or monkey-faced owl, is bird Of the
highest character, and deserving Of
mans protection and friendship. For
one thing, it has always frankly sought
both. This is the same species of owl
that is common in England, and Is
mentioned in Gray's Elegy. 1t has
always by preference made it's home
on barns and other buildings, and has
spent it's life Kidding farms and other
country places of vermin.
DR.. Fishers Investigations show that
the Smithsonian owls dine on injurious
rodents to the extent Of exactly 96.1
per cent of their total bill-of-fare, and
that only 81 per cent of their food Is
made up of birds. Most Of these birds
are English sparrows, of which the