LUNATIC ARTICLES - La Lechuza
As a young child growing in the Rio Grande Valley; I often heard stories of this night owl known as "The Lechuzas". Known to some as witches in Owl form and to others as curadera helpers; one would dare not whistle back to the noctural animal. For alot of valley residents feel this is a challenge to this bird ; and it would respond by flying straight down to the whistling person and strike. This behavior is common among several animals. Being territorial, comes naturally to a mother bird which may be struggling to feed her starving young chicks. But as mentioned before, some people, especially here in the RGV, feel there are other explainations for this behavior.
"I remember waking up at night and my sister screaming. It was shortly pass midnight, and by her window was a large white lechuza. My mother began cursing the lechuza, but it only screeched and would not go away. My sister began to cry, and my mom quickly got her bible and began to recite passages. As she continued to read aloud the passages, the lechuza began to pace side to side until it screeched once more and flew away. Later, the next day, my mom mentioned what happened to her comadre Janie. Janie was convinced, it was the work of a witch; since my sister had recently separated from her husband. It was the lechuza attempting to do the witches doing. They gave my sister "una barrida/a sweeping", to do away with the bad omen. From what I remember, it never happened again." Joe Hernandez; resident of Weslaco, TX; explaining his personal expierence with a lechuza.
What exactly is a Lechuza anyway? Well, in the scientific world, its known as "Tyto Alba". The scientific name comes from the Greek word tyto, which refers to an owl, and alba, the Latin word for white. The common name refers to the owl’s use of man-made structures, like barns, as roosts and nest sites. This owl has also been called Monkey-faced Owl, White Owl, Ghost Owl, and Night Owl. They are know to inhabit North America, South America, Europe, Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and Australia. These owls prefer open lowlands with some trees, including farmlands, plantations, urban areas, various forest types, semiarid shrub lands, and marshes. The majority of their diet are is small mammals, like field mice, pocket gophers, shrews, mice and rats, but Barn Owls are also known to hunt birds, fish, reptiles, and insects. Barn Owls hunt from a perch and swoop down onto their prey, or fly within 10 feet of the ground and dive onto their prey with their talons extended. Barn Owls nest in natural hollows in trees, cliffs, and caves, or in man-made structures, like nest boxes, barns, chimneys, and other structures. The nest is a scrape lined with pellets or other debris. The female lays 4 - 7 eggs, sometimes more, which are incubated for 29 - 34 days. Young owls fledge 7 - 10 weeks after hatching, but do not leave the area until they are 3 - 5 months old. The breeding pair may lay a second clutch of eggs when the young start to leave the area. A Barn Owl can reproduce at less than a year old. Barn Owls are short-lived birds. Most die in their first year of life, with the average life expectancy being 1 to 2 years in the wild. In North America the oldest known Barn Owl in the wild lived to be 11 years, 6 months. More closer to home, it seems as though we are unsure how long our native owl's life expectancy is; however, speaking to several local curanderos/curanderas; some claim to have raised their own to an average age of 6 years. Heres a few more interesting facts about these birds.---->
