2 20 The Ottawa Naturalist. [February 



draw himself up perfectly erect with his feathers close to his body, 

 making himself look far taller and thinner than usual. He would 

 then slowly close his eyelids in a funny crooked line and go to 

 sleep. His whole appearance changed in the evening, as, with 

 feathers fluffed out and body bent forward, he would move his head 

 from side to side and peer with an anxious expression into all the 

 nicks and crannies in the room. 



I was always conscious of his flight even when not watching 

 him, owing to a slight breeze which his wings made in the room, 

 but even when he flew close to my head I could not distinguish 

 the faintest sound. 



Although I supplied him with a box of sand in which was 

 sunk a dish of water, I never saw him either drink or bathe, and 

 the water did not seem to decrease, but got dirty in a few days. 

 His feathers never looked as if th y had been near water. 



But my pet came to a. tragic end at last in the following 

 manner. I paid him a visit one morning, and, unnoticed by me, 

 the cat followed me into the room but did not follow me 

 out again. Shortly after there was a slight tussle, followed by a 

 faint shriek and then all was still. Going into the room I saw the 

 cat with my pet in her mouth. The cat had evidently got the owl 

 in a corner, and I knew how he would back up and show fight, 

 and so the tussle I heard is explained. One of the cat's fangs had 

 penetrated its skull just over the eye and all one side of the head 

 was smashed. 



When skinned the bird proved to be a male and was in fairly 

 good condition, though not fat. During the few months 1 had 

 him, he proved a most in eresting pet, and I was sorry indeed to 

 lose him. 



Correction. — A most unfortunate error occurred in the 

 Notice of Prof. Bailey's Botany on page 196 of the last number. 

 In line 13 the word " subject" should read pupil. 



