Screech owl

“ Precisely as the light in the sick chamber elicits the shriek of the screech-owl, so does the muffled knocker attract the puffs of the advertising undertaker. With the attributes of the owl, however, these death-hunters combine the propensities of the crow and the vulture, which repair to the spot whereon a creature is dying, and hover impatiently about their prey that still breathes. ”

“ Over on the margin of the pines the little screech owl, now full of field mice and having time to worry, voiced his trouble about it in little sorrowful whinnies. Down in the pasture a fox barked distinctly and a coon answered the plaint of the screech owl in a voice not unlike his. It always seems to me that the night hunters of pasture and woodland bewail the passing of such a night as much as I do. ”

“ The Screech Owl, or its sub-species, is found throughout the United States, and is one of the most abundant and best known of the family. They are not at all timid, in winter frequently being found in church towers, while on the outskirts of cities and in the country, they reside, at all seasons of the year, in orchards. They remain mated for life, and live in the same tree for years, if not too much disturbed by curious boys. Both adults and the four young are often found in the nest together, and they offer no resistance when they are removed by hand. ”

“ Texan Screech Owl.—This little Owl seems to be quite common. If they are disturbed, they hide in the hollow of a tree or stump. All their movements are exceedingly quick and elegant, and the flight gliding and noiseless. ”

“ An old ruined building is sure to be tenanted by the Barn Owl, whose nightly shrieks very often terrify the belated wanderer, and make him fancy that the place is haunted by disturbed spirits. Such being the habits of the bird, it is likely that in the East, [456] where popular superstition has peopled every well with its jinn and every ruin with its spirit, the nocturnal cry of this bird, which is often called the Screech Owl from its note, should be exceedingly terrifying, and would impress itself on the minds of sacred writers as a fit image of solitude, terror, and desolation. ”

“ Birds in the locality were quite numerous and some of them showed remarkable tameness. During the hours of night time, giving voice as it were to the weird lights and shadows around the house, we could hear the mournful ditty of a screech owl whose home was in a nearby hickory tree, while the first gray streak of each returning dawn was heralded by the sweet songs of the robins. ”

“ It is a pity the little-eared owl is called a screech owl. Its tremulous, quavering cry is not a screech at all, and has an attraction of its own. These little owls come up to the house after dark, and are fond of sitting on the elk's antlers over the gable. When the moon is up, by choosing one's position, the little owl appears in sharp outline against the bright disk, seated on his many-tined perch. ”

“ The food of the Screech-Owl is chiefly small quadrupeds, insects, and occasionally, when they have young, small birds. They destroy a vast number of mice, beetles, and vermin, and are of great service to the agriculturist, although their services are not appreciated, and they are everywhere persecuted and hunted down without mercy or justice.
The nest of this species is usually constructed in hollow trees or stumps, most frequently in orchards in the vicinity of farm-houses, and not more than six or seven feet from the ground. ”

“ It belongs to wilder, heavily-wooded portions of the country, and in some localities is known as the hoot-owl. Perhaps the commonest in this country is the screech-owl, which nests about houses and is very widely distributed. It is quiet during the nesting season, but after the young are reared^ in July and August, its voice may be heard at night — not a screech, but a tremulous, quavering sound of mournful quality. ”

“ CERTAIN birds are known to utter strange sounds, the origin of which has much puzzled the ornithologists. The Brown Owl which hoots, is hence called the Screech Owl: a musical friend of Gilbert White tried all the Owls that were his near neighbours with a pitch-pipe set at a concert pitch, and found they all hooted in B flat; and he subsequently found that neither Owls nor Cuckoos keep to one note. The Whidah Bird, one of the most costly of cage-birds, rattles its tail-feathers with a noise somewhat resembling that made by the rattle-snake. ”

“ However, neither with the barn owl nor with man has the species-maker had his own way. Ornithologists recognise but one barn owl. This bird, which is frequently called the screech owl, is delightfully easy to describe. Everybody knows an owl when he sees one ”

“ Above all things they seem to delight in tormenting birds much larger than themselves; they pursue the most formidable amongst the many tyrants of the air without the slightest fear, and persecute and annoy the Screech Owl incessantly; they will often confront even man himself with great spirit and determination, and in some countries live upon the most friendly terms with the inhabitants of the houses in the thatch of which they lay their eggs. ”

“ The birds of the night also have crooked talons, such as the owlet,2938 the horned owl, and the screech-owl, for instance; the sight of all of which is defective in the day-time. The horned owl is especially funereal, and is greatly abhorred in all auspices of a public nature: it inhabits deserted places, and not only desolate spots, but those of a frightful and inaccessible nature: the monster of the night, its voice is heard, not with any tuneful note, but emitting a sort of shriek. ”

“ As the eggs are hatched, not all at once, but in succession, a family taken out of a loft and put into a sea-kale pot were of various ages, the eldest nearly fledged, standing up as if to guard the nest, the second hissing and snapping, as if a naughty boy, and two downy infants who died. One brown owl was kept tame, and lived 14 years. The village people call this bird Screech Owl, and after a sudden death always mention having heard it.
Chimney Swallow (Hirundo rustica) .—They chase the flies under the bridges on the Itchen, and display their red throats. ”

“ On advancing towards the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi, we find them becoming rather more numerous; above the Falls of the former, they increase in number; and as the traveller advances towards the sources of that noble river, their mournful notes are heard in every quarter during mild and serene nights. In Virginia, Maryland, and all the Eastern Districts, the bird is plentiful, particularly during the autumnal and winter months, and is there well known under the name of the Screech Owl. ”

“ In plumage it may be described as being very like a small Screech Owl, without the ear tufts, only with the pattern of the markings much finer. They are quite abundant in central Mexico and in southern Arizona, where they build their nests in deserted Woodpecker holes, or perhaps more frequently in the giant cactus. It differs from the preceding in being a bird of the night, rarely flying in daylight. They feed almost exclusively upon insects, and rarely a mole or field mouse. They lay from three to five white eggs, having a slight gloss (1.02 × .90) . ”

“ But he is an honest bird, notwithstanding his late hours and his idle sleeping days; he is also domestic in his habits, and the father of an interesting family, close at hand, in a hollow white-birch, and he is ever ready to give them his support and protection."
The Mottled Owl, (Strix Asio) or Screech Owl, is somewhat larger than the Acadian or Whetsaw, and not so familiar as the Barn Owl of Europe, though resembling it in general habits. He commonly builds in the hollow of an old tree, also in deserted buildings, whither he resorts in the daytime to find repose and to escape annoyance. ”

“ For my own part, I would rather have his cheerfulness and kind neighborhood than many berries.
(1) The screech-owl, whose cry, despite his ill name, is one of the sweetest sounds in nature, softens his voice in the same way with the most beguiling mockery of distance. J.R.L.
For his cousin, the catbird, I have a still warmer regard. Always a good singer, he sometimes nearly equals the brown thrush, and has the merit of keeping up his music later in the evening than any bird of my familiar acquaintance. ”

“ A rabbit, a weasel, a mink, or even a skunk is good eating for the owl. And there are times when one owl will make a meal of another owl of smaller size. A large red-tailed hawk was once put into a garret where there was a snowy owl. That night the hawk was killed and partly eaten by the owl. A tame great horned owl and a little screech owl were shut up in a hay loft together. The wings of the big owl were cut so he could not fly. After about a week they both became one owl, and that owl threw up the claws, beak, bones, and feathers which had once been useful to the little screech owl. ”

“ Food: Sometimes in walks out-of-doors we may come upon small, gray colored pellets made of hair and tiny bones. Very often, these have been ejected by the Screech Owl, who is able to digest the flesh of his prey but not the skeleton and the outer covering. This beneficial night flier feeds upon mice and other creatures. His sharp, hooked beak is adapted to tearing food and his rather long and pointed little talons are of great use in grasping it. ”

“ The Screech-Owl can hardly be said to construct any nest, but lines the hollow in which it rears its young with a few loose leaves, dry grasses, and feathers. The eggs are usually five or six in number; they are pure white, and nearly round. Their average measurement is 1.38 inches in length by 1.19 in breadth. ”

“ The hawks and owls are worst on the adult birds, the screech-owl is not so innocent as he looks, but there is none can compare with the great horned owl, and I just wish you knew the annoyance he has caused me by taking my choicest pets. ”

“ There it fluttered its wings and at short intervals gave forth a smothered screech, allowing the noise to die away in its throat in a series of disagreeable gurgles. When the owl was seated upon the hag's shoulder, she took from a box a half-torpid snake, and entwined it about her neck. With the help of these symbols of wisdom and cunning she at once began to evoke her familiar spirits. ”

“ Pl. 22, figs. 1, 3, show two drawings of owls from Nahua manuscripts.
Yucatan Screech Owl or Moan Bird (Otus choliba thompsoni) . A second species of owl is represented by the figures on Pl. 23. This has likewise two feathered tufts or “ears” on its head and is always shown with the head, at least, in profile, but the tufts one in front, the other at the back of the head. The facial disc is not very prominent the beak rather long, the tail short, and the plumage some [338] what mottled. A dark ring usually surrounds the eye. ”

“ At times they would alight upon the ground and with spread wings and tail flutter around, doubtless for the purpose of alluring the intruder from their nest. 19 The same day I found the nest of a Black Cap Chickadee containing six fresh eggs.
April 23d I found the nest of a Screech Owl in a hollow oak tree twenty inches below the opening. It contained three fresh eggs. From this same tree during the Winter of 1881 and ’82 I captured five fine specimens of this owl. ”

“ It is rather on the day insects which have not yet gone home to their rest. The bat flies mostly at twilight, and inhabits ruins and buildings as well as hollow trees in the woods.
THE LONG-EARED OWL.
The Owl is a nocturnal bird of prey. It flits by, as the twilight deepens into night, and hoots or howls in hollow and lugubrious tones. Though Edward was by no means given to fear, he was once scared at midnight by the screech of a Long-eared owl (Strix otus) . It was only about the third or fourth night that he had gone out in search of specimens. ”

“ Another parent is covering its eggs preparatory to leaving the nest. Range of both these species: Western North America. Habitat Group in the American Museum of Natural History.
The love of the beautiful seems to be innate; that is, born in us. And the birds appeal to this in at least two ways: First, on account of the beauty of their songs, [409] and second, on account of the beauty of their plumage.
SCREECH OWL
The Screech Owl feeds largely upon mice and other destructive rodents. Range: Eastern North America. ”

“ By day it keeps well hidden in some deserted woodpecker's hole or a hollow in some old orchard tree, which is its favourite residence; but some mischievous little birds, with sharper eyes than ours, often discover its hiding place, wake it up, and chase it, blinking and bewildered, all about the farm. By night, when its tormentors are asleep, this little owl goes forth for its supper, and then we hear its weird, sweet, shivering, tremulous cry. Because it lives near our homes and is, perhaps, the commonest of the owls all over our country, every child can know it by sound, if not by sight. ”

“ The flight of the Great Horned Owl is elevated, rapid and graceful. It sails with apparent ease, and in large circles, in the manner of an eagle, rises and descends without the least difficulty, by merely inclining its wings or its tail, as it passes through the air. Now and then, it glides silently close over the earth, with incomparable velocity, and drops, as if shot dead, on the prey beneath. At other times, it suddenly alights on the top of a fence-stake or a dead stump, shakes its feathers, arranges them, and utters a skriek so horrid that the woods around echo to its dismal sound. ”

“ But also there are marvelous sights, unknown to early-sleeping birds, which he enjoys all by himself. For at night his queer eyes are wonderfully strong and bright. All day long he sits in his hollow tree, but when the other feathered folk are drowsing upon their roosts, or are snugly rolled up in their little nests, with their heads tucked under their downy wings, old Mr. Owl puts on his round spectacles and goes a-prowling up and down the world through the woods and meadows (like Haroun-al-Rashid in the streets of Bagdad) , spying all sorts of queer doings. ”