220 Bird - Lore
The feeding habits of Asio were very interesting and repaid the labor of securing his daily fare of mice. which was the favorite food: raw beef or other meat was refused unless the Owl were very hungry. At first only such food was taken as was thrown into the cage, and then only when the Owl was left alone; but after about ten days' captivity, food was taken from the hand. if the bird were very hungry, but not otherwise The Owl would look at the proffered meal, first with one eye and then with the other, and finally with a stroke, as quick as a flash of lightning, would catch the food with a foot, usually the left one, but never with the bill; almost instantly the food would be transferred from the foot to the bill. The two move- ments were sometimes so quickly made that it was impossible to follow them with the eye, Mice, no matter how large, were invariably swallowed whole, tail first. Before eating an English Sparrow a portion of the plumage was removed; first the large feathers of the wings and tail were pulled out, together with some from the back. All the smaller and softer feathers were swallowed. The head was eaten first, followed by the soft portions of the body and finally the breast and wings. All the bones were swallowed, as well as the legs and feet.
An attempt was made to associate a Screech Owl in the same cage with the Sherbeared Owl, but it proved decidedly unsuccessful and it was impos- sible to determine which of the two Owls was the most frightened. The Screech Owl crouched in one corner of the cage and uttered a series of low whistles, while the larger bird jumped from end to end of the cage in a frantic manner, hissing and snapping its billl Peace and quietness was main» tained only by a separation of the thoroughly frightened Owls. Shortly after this both Owls were taken at night to a clump of pines in Central Park, New York City, where they were liberated, and the last seen of them was their shadowy forms disappearing in the dim light of the stars twinkling through the arches of the grove
Study Points for Teachers and Students
Tm: distribution or [ht Shari-raved Owls on [he "up, Give some ol the lite isiory og shaman-en Owls band an youruwn ahsmnli us. thi are Shrews? Gal-hers? What IS the meaning ni Cchmeeous? Cosmopolitan? Diurnal? churzimmn? Maridiblrs?
For additional valuable information regarding the Short-gated Owls, consult the ref— erence books named in Leaflet No, 8, also “Observations on Owls, with Particular Regard to their Feeding Habits." American Naturalist, July, '899.
