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Barred Owls in Captivity

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Barred Owls in Captivity THE AUK- A O•UARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY. VOL. VII. APRIL• •890. No. 2. BARRED OWLS IN CAPTIVITY. BY FRANK BOLLES. CnocoRu,x is one of the boldest,most picturesque,and at the same time one of the most southerly, of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. At its southernfoot are severalsmall lakes fed by its streams. The chief of these streamsis called Chocorua River, and its main lake Chocorua Lake. North of this water, fringing the river for half a mile, is a growth of yellow birch, beech,and hemlock of considerableage and size. The dainty Parula is frequently seen in its gray moss. Cooper's Hawks, Broad-wingedHawks, and Yelloxv-belliedWoodpeckers are com- mon tenantsof its shades. On June x, x888,xvhile nest-hunting in its midst, [ saw a Barred Owl sittingon the edgeof a cavity in a beech. The tree was a giant. The cavity was aboutthirty- five feet fi'om the ground, on the southwesterlyside, and quite large. The Owl did not move, even after I threw a stick at her. Convincedthat the cavity was worth exploring, I went home and returned with a fi'ieud, a ladder, and a guu. As a result two old birds were shot, and t•vo young onestaken from the nest. The gun was quite necessary,for my fi'ieud would have fared badly in climbing if I had not shotthe old birds before they could attack him. Their threateningcries and loud snappingof their beaks were quite enoughto discouragean unarmedrobber. I wrappedthe two youngbirds in a towel and later placedthem side by side in an ordinary canary cage. They were savage, usingbeaks and claws vigorously. When releasedin my door- 102 BOLLES,Barred Owls t'•tCat$l*t'vt't•.J,. [April yard they half hopped, half flew towards the nearest tree, making suchrapid progressthat I did not risk their lossby a secondexperiment. For their permanent prison I chosea case in which a piano had been boxed. By standingit upon its end, and nailing perchesat different heights,ample spacewas given the captives. The front of the box was barred horizontallyby laths. On what could the Owls be fed? That was my first problem. Not sharingin the belief of my family that everythingin feathers eats dough,I tried raw beef. The birds found it too toughto managereadily, and raw liver was substituted.Nothing couldhave suitedthem better, and for the best part of eighteenmonths liver and beefkidney havebeen the chief of their diet. For the birds' namesthe femininehalf of my householdagreed upon •Puffy' and •Flufl•.' At first the names were not of much use, for no one could tell one bird from the other, but it was not long before an event occurredwhich not only causedthem to be readily distin- guished,but led to a lifelong differentiationof their charactersand careers. Puffy, or he who was thenceforthto be Puffy, caught his left wing betweentwo of the laths, and by his strugglesin- jured it so that it lost most of its usefulnessas a wing and became rather an obstruction to his free locomotion. This happened aboutthe middle of June, after my returnto Cambridge,and [ did not seethe Owls again until the secondweek in July when my long vacationat Chocoruabegan. I foundthe birdsfifty per cent larger than when I first handled them, and with tempers similar- ly developed. No one's fingerswere sat• inside the barswhen the young gluttons were hungry. When satiated they ,vere stolid, and did little beyond moving their headsand snapping their beaks. One interestingfact had been developedduring my absence:the Owls not only drank water freely, but took pro- longed baths whenever fresh water was given them. Their tank was a foot and a half long, a foot wide, and ten inches deep. Their reflectionsin this comparativelydeep and dark pool greatly amused them for a time. On the arrival of fresh water Fluft•• was usually the first at the brink, ready to drink several times, and then to step cautiouslyin. He would test the depth before ducking his head, and then, holding out his wings, he would 'pump the water under them, flapping his tail and otherwise drenchinghimselL When thus soaked he becameabout the size •59•-; •BOLLES,•5'arred Owls /n Captt'vt'ty. IO 3 of a pluckedpigeon, the colorof a Crow, and a dismalobject to look upon. His eyesat such timeswould stand out from his drenchedand drizzling feathersin a mostunpleasant way. This habit of bathing has been maintained in all weathers and tem- peratures. I have seenboth birds take their plungeson mornings when the mercury outdoorswas not more than •oø 1•'. On such occasionsthey shiver for hours before drying. After washing, it is their habit to preen eachfeather in their wings and tails with great care and precision. During the summerand autumn of •888, and at intervals since, I have tried various experimentsin feeding the Owls. They reject all vegetable substanceswith the possible exception of cooked oatmeal, although they will sometimesplay with ap- ples, grape leaves, fresh twigs, corn silk and husks,tearing them up solelyfor amnsementapparently, and flinging fragments in all directions. Mice they considera rare treat, and they swal- low them without hesitation,head foremost. With birds they are equallypleased, but if one is larger than a Redstart they are quite sureto crushthe skull, sometimeseating the head separate- ly, then to pull out the stilt feathers,and after feeling of the wing joints, to s•vallo•v head foremost. A_ Hermit Thrush thus pre- paredis aboutthe limit of their singleswallowing power. They sometimes,especially with larger birds, devour the contentsof the abdominal cavity before swallowing the trunk. When an appetizing mouthful has been startedon its do•vnwardjourney the expression of gluttonousenjoyment thro•vn into their half- closed eyesand distendedmouths is somethingbeyond words. One seems to see them taste the morsel all the way do•vn! If a mouthfulsticks at first, they jerk their bodiesup and down with considerableforce, literally ramming it in by concussion. Some- times the tail of a Warbler thus being lost to sight, remains in one corner of the Owl's mouth. The Owl's practice then is to turn his head towards it far enoughto t•vist the unwilling feathersinto the middleof his tongue,and then to s•vallo•vviolently, always with effect. With great interest in the result I placed nine live perch and breamin the O•vls' tank onemorning when they •vereabout three months old. They had never seen fish before. As the light played upon the red fins and bright scales,the birds' excitement wasamusing to see. In a very short time, however,they plunged 104 BOLLES,Barred Owls in Ca_•tivity. lAptit feet foremostinto the water and with almostunerring aim lanced the victims with their talons and flew out with thein. Then the head was crushedat its junction with the back bone, the spines were bitten into jelly, and the fish was swallowed. I have seen half a dozensmall hornpoutcaught, disarmed, and swallowedby them in a comparativelyshort time. Generally all the fish in the tank were caught and killed beforeany were eaten. Live frogs called for moreagility than live fish. When placed on the bottom of the cage or in the water tank, the frogs seemedto realize their danger•and as a rule remained motionless. The Owls would hang their great t•eads towards them, and eye them intently. The faintestsign of life would lead to a pounce or a desperate chaseround the cage. When caught,the fi'ogwas subjectedto a careful overhauling. Every joint was felt and crushed. _As they slid the slipperylegs through their beaks they seemedto be searchingfor spursor hornswhich might prevent easyswallow- ing. Once found spurless,the frog soon vanished. The wood frog seemsto be their favorite species,and the leopard frog the least well flavored. Once Puffy caught a toad in the grass, but the creature apparently tasted so unpleasantthat it was quickly dropped,while for severalminutes the Ow'l hoppedabout: shakinghis head and making motionswith his mouthexpressive of disgustor even pain. A small salamanderwas eatenwithout hesitation. Once, when unusuallyhungry, the Owls devouredmore than a pint of large• fat earthworms,taking them from my fingers, or picking them up singly with their claws with wonderful dex- terity. ]k plump slugwas taken readily by Puffy, but ahnost instantlyflung from his mouthwith disgust. Fresh water mus- sels, abundantin ChocoruaLak% were taken with some hesita- tion and, I fancied, made Puffy miserable. Flies, harvest flies, dragon flies, grasshoppers,and beetles of variouskinds all proved enjoyable tidbits. But of snakesand turtles the Owls stoodin terror during the summerof •888. The appearanceof either led the birds to make desperateeflbrts to escapebetween the upper slatsof their cage. What was my sur- prise then• in the summerof •859, to find that so far as snakes were concerned,timidity was changedto curiosity, and curiosity quickly transformedinto an eager desireto catch, kill, and swal- l,w, Even a deadmilk snake,three feet long a•d tht• wa• eaten ,890.] BOLLES,Barred O-a:lsœn Casbllvt'ly. IO 5 piecemealuntil only the well-picked skeletonremained. This was donein August, I889. Small green snakeswere seizedby their middle and swallowed doubled, while still wtlthiug. Generallyfresh meat is greatly preferredto that which is stale. I have seenboth Owls retire in disgust to the top of their cage when somethoroughly offensive liver was offeredthem. On the other hand they devouredthe skinnedcarcass of a Broad-winged Hawk when it was in ahnostas advanced a stage of decay, and oncerecently, when I placeda piece of luminouskidney in their' closetat night, Puffy instantlypounced tipon it. I have no doubt fi'om other experimentsthat the light of the decaying meat, aud not its sinell, was what attracted him.
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