112 FROM BLOMIDON TO SMOKY. 



motions with his mouth expressive of disgust or 

 even pain. A small salamander was eaten with- 

 out hesitation. 



Once, when unusually hungry, the owls de- 

 voured more than a pint of large, fat earth- 

 worms, taking them from my fingers, or picking 

 them up singly with their claws with wonderfid 

 dexterity. A plump slug was taken readily by 

 Puffy, but almost instantly flung from his mouth 

 with disgust. Fresh water mussels, abundant in 

 Chocorua Lake, were taken with some hesitation 

 and, I fancied, made Puffy miserable. 



Flies, harvest flies, dragon flies, grasshoppers, 

 and beetles of various kinds all proved enjoy- 

 able tidbits, but of snakes and turtles the owls 

 stood in terror during the summer of 1888. The 

 appearance of either led the birds to make des- 

 perate efforts to escape between the upper slats 

 of their cage. What was my surprise then, in 

 the summer of 1889, to find that so far as snakes 

 were concerned, timidity was changed to curi- 

 osity, and curiosity quickly transformed into an 

 eager desire to catch, kill, and swallow. Even 

 a dead milk snake, three feet long and fat, was 

 eaten piecemeal until only the well-picked skele- 

 ton remained. This was done in August, 1889. 

 Small green snakes were seized by their middle 

 and swallowed doubled, while still writhing. 



Generally fresh meat is greatly preferred to 



