igoi] Beattie— Acadian Owl. 219 



In the case of mice he always pulled off" the head and 

 swallowed it first; in fact, the mouse he had when I caught him was 

 minus the head. Before eating the body he gave it a couple of 

 rolls about in his mouth and crushed the bones with his bill. He 

 always waited a while after swallowing the head, before he 

 attacked the body. In most cases he put his food down in short 

 order, but sometimes when satisfied he would perch himself on a 

 piece of beef and take an occasional nip at it. 



I never tried him with crickets or grasshoppers, but a Screech 

 Owl which I kept the previous spring, ate them readily as it did 

 earth worms also. The latter did not seem to contain much 

 nourishment, for the Owl became very thin during the week I fed 

 him on them. 



On the evening of the da\ I caught the Acadian Owl he threw 

 up two pellets, one containing fur and bones, the other fur and 

 the crushed skull of a mouse. All skulls which he ejected were 

 crushed and covered with fur. I am unable to sny whether more 

 pellets were thrown up after birds than after mice but I am. of the 

 opinion that such was the case, as those ejected after mice were 

 more compact. The bones contained in the pellets were in small 

 pieces and badly splintered. I never saw him in the act of regurgi- 

 tation, but I am of the opinion that more pellets were ejected 

 during the morning and evening, as most new ones were found 

 then, especially in the evening. 



For the first two weeks I had him, I never heard him make 

 a sound beyond the snapping of his bill ; but after this he would 

 favour us at night with a series of little squeals or shrieks, or he 

 would often give vent to a single note. Each note certainly had 

 some resemblance to the sound made by a file drawn once across 

 a saw, but when several were uttered at once I failed to perceive 

 the resemblance. Perhaps this was due to the proximity and my 

 knowledge of the origin of the sound. His notes were generally 

 heard in the evening and early morning, and never in the day- 

 time. He frequently squealed just after attacking a piece of meat 

 or any other article of food. I once caught him jerking away at 

 the skinned body of a squirrel and squealing his best. 



During the day, when not disturbed or when not eating, he 

 struck a very queer looking position to go to sleep. He would 



