Birds Of Prey (1938)

during the day barn owls are throughout most of the United States they usually hunt their prey under cover of night the eyes of the barn owl unlike those of most birds are set so that it can look in Li one direction without moving its head the barn owl has keen eyes it can see mice or other prey at great distances it's highly sensitive ears can hear the movements of a field mouse far away the wing feathers of an owl have a soft fringe such wings make no noise in flight thus the prey has no warning a baby barn owl just hatched naked and quite helpless later a white gown appears the mother barn owl starts sitting as soon as she lays the first egg the largest in this brood is 12 days older than the smallest baby barn owls are always hungry [Applause] well half grown the young still have the downy white coat but later wing feathers appear and also the hen feathers here is the entire brood of seven again days later when six to eight Bar None are ready to leave the nest the great horned owl is boned in all parts of North and South America the year round the ear tufts resemble horns hence the name great horned owl it is large powerful and ferocious it is often called the tiger of the air this great horned owl in Arizona has hatched it's too young in an old abandoned Hawk nest here in the southwest the parents often catch rabbits to feed their young even at this age they are ever on the alert for dangers if a stranger approaches the young owl lowers and spreads its wings as a critical tack the screech owl is found in all parts of the United States this one has a nest in a hollow fir tree its plumage matches the bark the baby screech owl has a code of down when half grown it is well feathered a less common owl the snowy owl nests near the Arctic Circle only during severe winters do these owls go southward as far as the United States and then usually only as far as the northern states the snowy owl is white except for dark markings the turkey vulture feeding mainly on decaying flesh it is often seen circling high in the sky above a carcass the young turkey vulture has a white coat of down which is later replaced by black feathers during summer turkey vultures are found throughout most of the United States but they move southward in winter the black vulture is found only in the southeastern United States and southward the black vulture also is a scavenger the head and upper neck are bare young black vultures and have coats of gray down but this will be replaced by black feathers when they are three months old the sparrow hawk is one of the smallest Hawks in Canada but many migrate to southern United States in this far south of Central America in winter the sparrow hawk commonly nests in a hollow tree this sparrow hawk has just hatched feathers appear as it grows older but the brightly colored feathers do not appear until the second year the marsh Hawk usually lists among the reeds in marshes throughout the northern and western parts of the United States and north to the Arctic Circle the winter home extends from the United States to South America during the nesting season the parents are busy providing food marsh Hawks live almost entirely on field mice the mother holds the mouse in her claws and with her beak tears the flesh the rough legged hawk winters almost entirely within the boundaries of the United States but in summer migrates northward to nest in Canada the rough legged Hawk sometimes nests on a high cliff a brood usually consists of three or four young these young are nearly grown the parent birds often bring rabbits or squirrels to the nest but when food is scarce they may attack other birds these young rough legged Hawks are tearing apart the remains of a sparrow hawk a case of hawk eat hawk the red-tailed hawk is found in all parts of the United States in mountainous country the red-tailed hawk often nests on a high ledge the red-tailed hawk preys largely on small animals including snakes and fish two months after hatching these young red tails are nearly full-grown and they are learning to fly