Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-07-21
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
THE OWL POLICEMAN

| Harrisburg, Pa, July 21, 1919.
To the Editor Of the Telegraph
Sir: In the July issue of The
National Geographic Mazazine or
page III will be found pictures OF
barn owls. some times called
"monkey-faced owls" and under,
meath this picture the following
words:
Barn Owls: The policeman OF
the farm. A family of barn owls
on the place constitutes valuable
asset. for these birds are the most
effective natural check on rats,
mice and other destructive rodents.
Due to their extremely rapid diges-
ton they are always hungry and
half-grown owlet will eat more
than its own weight in a single night.
An old owl will catch more mice than
dozen cats"
This is a statement of absolute
fact, yet but few people understand
the work these birds are doing and
many, because of this lack of un-
derstanding will go out of their
way to destroy them
1t is a we'll known fact that men,
bers of the owl family bolt their
food, that is. they swallow it whole
wherever that is possible, and for
\
that can be swallowed without tear
ing them to pieces as is done by
members of the hawk family. DR..
w. T. Hornaday says that owls in
captivity cannot be kept healthy on
cutup pieces of beefsteak alone. H
says an owl will swallow a mouse or
sometimes a small bird, hair or
feathers as the case may be and
bones; that the soft parts are digest
ed and the hard parts, hair or feath-
ers and bones are rolled up in a
small bundle, called a ball or pellet,
and elected from the mouth of the
owl. He says this is necessary to the
health of the bird and that under
meath wherever owls make their
homes large quantities of these pei
lets may be found, that through
the examination of these balls or
pellets the food supply of the owls
in question may be determined, and
examination of thousands upon thou
sands OF these balls sustain this as
sertlon. l cite one investigation of
this character as an illustration:
Dr. A. X. Fisher, of the Biological
Survey, Washington, d. c., reports
that pair of barn owls had made
their home in the tower of a wing
of the Smithsonian Institute at
Washington, and he collected two
hundred of these pellets or balls
under their roost. These contained
the skulls and bones of asa crea-
lures; of these 225 were meadow
mice, of pine mice, 179 house
mice, 20 were rats, of jumping
mice, 20 of shrews, l star-nosed
mole and 1 vesper sparrow. -Four
hundred and fif5y-three creatures
harmful to the interests of men had
been destroyed to one that was
beneficial, and just about this ratio
Will be maintained by every inyesti-
cation, yet men are disposed To
shoot these and other owls and GER
tam hawks, because they think the
birds are destructive.
This matter has been called to orr
attentlon recently through the kill
ing OIL tamlly of barn owls at Will
llams Grove, Franklin county tho
one doing this killing honestIv he
lleVlng that these owls were do
stroying game and birds and pouItrv
IN that section. No one saw the owl
commit single wrong, but they did
see the owls and that was all there
was to IL. While it is a fact thai
oarn owls will now and then destroy
small birds and perhaps rabbits So
small that they can be swalIowad
whole, the good they do far exceeds
the harm and they are entitled ~
absolute protection. beg of +bo
people that they study the life wort
of birds and be certain they are de-
structive before killing them.
Respectfully yours,
JOSEPH KALBFJS.
secretary Game Commission.