. Bits of bird life . t impu-tation of stupidity. But let us pass from general facts to particulars, and seewhat relation the owl tribe bears to man, especially to thefarmer. It is high time the matter is understood ; for if the ionable craze. Let us consider the Great Horned Owl (Fig. i)first by reason of his size, his fine presence—for he is ourfinest species — and his economic importance. He has shortcomings. The chief one is a liking for fowlsand turkeys. But as he does not begin to hunt until it isdusk, and retires to the deep woods by early daylight, heseldom gets a chance at the farmers
. Bits of bird life . t impu-tation of stupidity. But let us pass from general facts to particulars, and seewhat relation the owl tribe bears to man, especially to thefarmer. It is high time the matter is understood ; for if the ionable craze. Let us consider the Great Horned Owl (Fig. i)first by reason of his size, his fine presence—for he is ourfinest species — and his economic importance. He has shortcomings. The chief one is a liking for fowlsand turkeys. But as he does not begin to hunt until it isdusk, and retires to the deep woods by early daylight, heseldom gets a chance at the farmers fowls unless they roostin trees. Then he becomes a dangerous foe indeed, and onethe farmer is justified in disposing of by any means. However, when rabbits are plenty this owl prefers them ;and in the far West, where the rabbit is extremely abundantand a most destructive foe to the crops, the Great HornedOwl does good service in warring upon them. Many thou-sands of pounds are annually expended in Australia in an. owl be the farmers friend, thefarmer ought to know it, andbear a hand in the effort tostop the destruction of owls ofall sorts for decorative pur-poses. Fig. 2. Of late there seems to be anabatement of the fashion, butin the last ten years manythousands of owls, from thePigmy Owl, scarce a handsbreadth high, to the GreatHorned Owl, with a spread ofwing of three feet and more,have fallen victims to the fash- 6o OWLS AND THEIR USES. attempt to destroy the rabbits — an attempt this owl woulagladly second if it were given a chance. The Barred Owl(Fig. 2) is not quite so large as the Great Horned, but thoughby no means as fine a species as the preceding, it is yet anotable bird. It is a good friend of the farmer, too, in themain, though its record with regard to chickens is notaltogether a clean one. Still, it feeds mainly upon squirrelsand mice. Probably all the larger owls are cannibals, and do notdisdain to eat one of their smaller brethren when opportunity
Size: 1514px × 1649px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1895
