. Birds of America;. Birds -- North America. OWLS 113 " Tiger of the Air " is the term which has heen applied to this great Owl, and fitly, too, it must be admitted, for the big bird undeniably is cou- rageous, powerful, and bloodthirsty. That he is highly destructive must also be conceded, for it has been demonstrated beyond question ol a doubt not only that he is bold, ])ersistent, and generally successful in his raids ujjon domeslir poultry of all kinds, hut that he is highly skill- ful and deadly in his jiursuit of game birds, song birds, rabbits, and squirrels. The tiger compari
. Birds of America;. Birds -- North America. OWLS 113 " Tiger of the Air " is the term which has heen applied to this great Owl, and fitly, too, it must be admitted, for the big bird undeniably is cou- rageous, powerful, and bloodthirsty. That he is highly destructive must also be conceded, for it has been demonstrated beyond question ol a doubt not only that he is bold, ])ersistent, and generally successful in his raids ujjon domeslir poultry of all kinds, hut that he is highly skill- ful and deadly in his jiursuit of game birds, song birds, rabbits, and squirrels. The tiger comparison applies well to the Owl's manner of hunting, for the sweep of his great wings in the silent air is as noiseless as the tread of the big cat's padded feet upon the soft earth. Through the woods and over the meadows he glides as silently as a shadow, and to the unwatchful rabbit or the slumbering Partridge that shadow is the shadow of certain and sudden death. For such creatures the Owl's lightning-like swoop, and the murderous clutch of his great talons, are as ])itiless and as ines- capable as the spring of the tiger u])on the helpless lamb. To the poultry-farmer this Owl is a veritable terror; for, once the bird has acquired a pref- erence for a diet of domesticated fowls, and has learned that they are easier to caj)turc than are the wild creatures, nothing short of death is at all likely to deter him. For young Turkeys he is likely to develop an especially strong craving, and one instance is recorded of the loss by a farmer of fifty-nine young Guinea-fowl, taken in a single autumn by the same Owd. In such instances the bird is hkely to become fastidious to the extent that he will devour only tlie brains of his prey, and leave the flesh untouched. Of the mammals he has been known to kill even the woodchuck, and he and other members of his family are apparently the only rapacious birds who frequently dine on the skunk, with the well- known results which, however, evidently
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookidbirdsofameri, bookyear1923
