Despite an old Chinese superstition that owls are an evil omen, people in the downtown area of this capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province have lived peacefully with these new neighbors for three months.
During the daytime, over 100 owls, both grown-up and fledglings, are found reposing in groups on chimneys or on the tops of poplar trees in a local residential area on the east side of Hexing Road.
At night, they fly to nearby construction sites and garbage heaps, searching for rats to feed on.
It was a pleasant surprise for the local people to find so many owls in the urban area although a traditional Chinese saying has it that misfortune follows owls.
As every grown-up owl may kill 1,000-2,000 rats a year, people say that they are glad to benefit from these useful birds.
Some residents believe that the owls moved from the city's outskirts, where heavy snowfalls this year made it hard for them to find prey.
(Xinhua News Agency February 23, 2002)
