3o6 WILD WINGS 



I see them at dusk, when just out of the hole for the nightly 

 hunt, perched on a tree by the roadside or in the orchard. 

 One afternoon in early spring I was driving home at dusk, 

 when, hearing one of these owls, I stopped to listen. The 

 sound came from somewhere close at hand, but for some 

 time I could not locate it, until finally, looking directlv up, 

 there I saw the little rogue within a few feet of me, peering 

 down and hooting merrily at me, as though in friendly ridi- 

 cule. 



Now and then I succeed in ferreting them out, especially 

 in the winter, by looking for their disgorged pellets under 

 holes in trees, in orchards particularly. These are owls' " at 

 home" cards. The little dignitary will very likely be found 

 asleep within, and can usually be ]3ulled out unresistin<^^ Of- 

 ten he will feign death and lie perfec^tly limp, with eyes half- 

 closed. But, if not watched, he will suddenly come to life, and 

 be off. 



It is wonderfully hard to find the nest, considering that the 

 little owl is so common. I have actually found more nests 

 of the scarcer and wilder Great Horned Owl than of our tame 

 little friend that abounds all about us. The eggs are laid 

 on the rotten wood at the bottom of a tree-hollow, wherever 

 a suitable one is found. It may even be right in the door- 

 yard, in a shade-tree on the village or even city street, or 

 in the orchard, as well as in the groves or forests. There 

 the brooding owl sits like a statue, and nothing on earth 

 will move her, but force. Moreover she is careful in nesting- 

 time not to betray the location by droppings under her door. 

 When the young are hatched, the parents will bring food, 

 beginning at dusk, and this will sometimes reveal the secret. 

 A brood were raised every year in a lofty hole of a great 

 elm in Bedford, Massachusetts, just over the front door of 

 the house, and I greatly enjoyed the sight when the owls 



