Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-07-20
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTES owl s
BY FREDERIC }. HASKIN

WASHINGTON. ID. c., July le-In
! one OF tho towers of tho old building
| Of the Smithsonian Institute here
4 dwclls a pair OF ordinary barn owls
/ which are undoubtedly tho two most
| important owls IN the United states.
| Thcy-and their ancestors for a dozen
| OWL Gcncrations-havc represented the
whole tribe Of owls at the capital OF
! the United states, and have established
! the fact that they are not outlaws but
deserve ;he protection ot their govern
| mcnt.
| Every day Or y. Is Fisher, OF tho
| Bioloaical survey, the governments
leading authority Oh owls. asccnds into
| the dark tower and examines tho daily
report OF these ambassadorial birds.
! Said report Is in tho form OF little balls
Of feathers, fur and bones which are
| disGorGcd ny the birds after they have
eaten all the digeStibl. portions OF
their prey. This iudclicatc way OF
feeding h,s been tn. salvation OF the
owls. Formerly All hawks and owls were
supposed to be destructive to poultry
and game ANA songhirds, and were
accordingly Killed sight For a
quarter OF a century the scientists OF
|. the Biological survey have been work
ing hard to prove that most species
money 10 man because OF tho warfare
they wage anon rats, mice cophcrS
and other destructive rodents. The
steady patrol Of the hawks by dag
and the owls by night is All that pre-
vents these rats and mice Of field and
orchard from literally eating man of
the face Of the earth.
Now, in order to establish tho inuo-
ccncc of most OF these birds u has
| boon necessary 10 go ont and XIII
! 81.
! OF their stonachs should be examined.
Not 50 the barn owls, however. They
were ready 10 meet amy peace over
| lures half way. About tho year lSGS.
! 50 far rs tin" records show the frs,
| pair Of barn owls set up housckccp-
ing in this same tower OF the Smith
souiau iiuiidinc. Professor Spencer i.
Baird. well known scientist, VIII"
was thcu secretary Of tho Institute,
noted their presence and mentioned
| them i'm report. These owls in time
persisted Of old age. but some OF their
| descendants remained 10 occupy tho old
| family homestead in tho tower, and TO
range the parks and grounds Of the
| capital and the marshes across the
river for their PROV. At times there
| owls nesting in the tower; and 1t has
never been vacant for nearly half
| century.
studied Their Dict.
Biological Survey. first became in
tcrcstcd IN the Smithsonian owls.
when the building was repaired lie
saw 10 II that u pane Of glass was
left out Of the tower window, so that
tho owls would not lie locked out Of
their house. About that time, too, he
began his study Of their diet, and has
continued II ever sincc-jusL, about Il
quarter of century. II is safe TO say
that this is the mos; extended study
I
been made.
Needless TO say. this long study has
concluSivciy proved that the barn OWL,
or monkcy-faccd OWL, is bird OF the
highest character, and deserving of
mans protection and friendship. For
one thing. il has always frankly
sought both. This is the same species
of owl that is common in England.
and is mentioned in Gray's "Elcsy"
IL has always by preference made its
home In barnS and other buildings, and
has spent its life Kidding farms and
other country places Of vcrmin.
DR.. Fishers Investigations show that
the Smithsonian owls dine on injurious
rodents to the extent of exactly 60
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 English sparrows. Of which
the capital city has an ovcrSupply at
all times. The owls have been guilty
/
and occasionally of larger birds, such
rs rcdwine blackbirds. BY far the
greater part of the Grey consists of
the loathsome house rat, the most
dangerous and destructive of vcrmin.
These creatures are all too abundant
about many OF the government build
inss. and especially about the ZOO
logical park where they are attracted
by the food for the animals. The
owls are their worst enemies. as cats
are rather scarce in the vicinity.
Only Three Enemy Species.
In this matter OF owls and hawks
the government scientists want Il
brought to the attention OF all country
dweilers that there are just three
species in the Eastern United States
which must be dcstroyed--the cooper
hawk, the sharpshinncd hawk and the
great horned owl. Learn to identify
these three species and you have your
bird enemies spotted. There are two
other species that are destructive. but
too rare to be OF much consequence.
These arc the duck hawk and the
Goshawk. All of tho other hawks and
owls are necessary for the Drotec-
tion of crops. Without them the bal
ance of nature would be seriously dis