Show great horned owl named I 1 the tiger of the air sometimes called the tiger of the air and the evil genius of the woods the great horned own is by nature sullen and savage if placed in captivity it never forgives its captors and may even be treacherous in the wild its food consists of rats mice and gophers fish birds andl and even an occasional skunk it likes to feed on chickens in settled areas to offset this damaging evidence as far as man is concerned the great horned owl is an avowed enemy of crows and grackles graceles gr ackles the crows themselves recognize this by ganging up on an owl whenever they find one in the woods the young of this bird sometimes feed on night flying insects since the young are said to begin hooting w when hen they are about four months old the insect hawking owls wi will U ut ter a screaming cry when this is heard in the dark the cry is often puzzling to listeners I 1 despite its general disfavor among men the owls deserve high praise in their devotion to eggs and young at nesting time asserts a writer in the detroit free press sometimes they begin nesting as early as february when they may be exposed to fierce storms and low temperatures often for days at a time it is a marvel how the eggs are kept from freezing in a nest exposed as it usually is in the top of a tall bare tree only the most devoted devote d unswerving attention to duty can save them in defense of their young these owls will attack almost any intruders after spending about a month in the nest the young begin to fly but accompany their parents for a time only until they learn to forage for themselves |