The Niche-Relationships of the California Thrasher

Abstract

The CaliforniaThrasher.427 into the body of the partly eaten bantam and replaced it in the same spot where he found it.Next morning the seemingly impossible was made a practical certainty, for he found the body of a screech owl with the claws of one foot firmly imbedded in the body of the bantam.He very kindly presented me with the owl which, upon dissection, proved to be a female, its stomach containing a very considerable amount of bantam flesh and feathers, together with a great deal of wheat.(It seems probable that the wheat was accidentally swallowed with the crop of the bantam during the feast, but there was so much that it seems strange the owl did not discard it while eating).How a bird only 9.12 inches in length could have dealt out such havoc in so short a time is almost incredible, but, although purely circumstantial, the evidence against the owl appeared altogether too strong for even a reasonable doubt.The doctor and I wished to make as certain as possible, however, so the poisoned bantam was replaced and left for several days, but without any further results.For the above mentioned reasons I am rather doubtful as to the net value of this owl from an economic standpoint, although birds in a wild state would not give them such opportunities for such wanton killing as birds enclosed in pens.