File:The book of birds, common birds of town and country and American game birds (1918) (14569020557).jpg

Identifier: bookofbirdscommo00nati (find matches)
Title: The book of birds, common birds of town and country and American game birds
Year: 1918 (1910s)
Authors: National Geographic Society (U.S.) Henshaw, Henry W. (Henry Wetherbee), 1850-1930 Fuertes, Louis Agassiz, 1874-1927 Kennard, F. H., (Frederic Hedge), 1865- Cooke, Wells Woodbridge, 1858-1916 Shiras, George, 1859-1942
Subjects: Birds
Publisher: Washington, D. C. : National Geographic Society
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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dering shallow lakes areits chosen breeding ground^, and as many such.ire.is ;ire being reclaimed for agricultural pur-poses it behooves the tillers of the soil to pro-tect this valuable sjiecies. When umlisturbedthis gull becomes cpiite fearless and followsthe plowman to gather the grubs and wormsfrom the newly turned furniws. It lives al-most exclusively ujion insects, of which it con-sumes great (pianlities. Its hearty appetite ismanifest from the contents of a few stomachs:A, .UT nymphs of wasps, .ind i spi-der : C. Sj beetles. S; bugs. i>S4 ants, and Icricket. I grasshopper, and 2 spiders. .M>outfour-fifths of the total food is grasshoppers, astrong point in favor of this bird. Other in-jurious creatures eaten are billbugs. squashbugs, leaf-hoppers, click beetles (adults ofwireworms). May beetles <a«lults of whilegrubs), and weevils. ;-ranklins gull is prob-ably the most beneficial bird ol its group. 71
Text Appearing After Image:
Screech 0\\ lBarn Owl 72 SCREECH OWL (Otus asio) Lenglli, about 8 inches. Our smallest owlwith car tufts. There arc two distinct phasesof plumage—one grayish and the other brightrufous. Range: Resident throughout the UnitedStates, southern Canada, and northern Mexico. Habits and economic status: The littlescreech owl inhabits orchards, groves, andthickets, and hunts for its prey in such placesas well as along hedge-rows and in the open.During warm spells in winter it forages quiteextensively and stores up in some hollow treeconsiderable quantities of food for use duringinclement weather. Such lardeis frequentlycontain euDUgh mice or other prey to bridgeover a period of a week or more. With theexception of the burrowing owl. it is probablythe most insectivorous of the nocturnal birdsof prey. It feeds also upon small mammals,birds, reptiles, batrachians, fish, spiders, craw-fish, scorpions, and earthworms. Grasshop-pers, crickets, ground-dwelling beetles, andcaterpillars are its favor

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