THE BIRD OF NIGHT 



disappointed that I relented and took it, knowing that 

 it would keep a long time in the cold weather. It was 

 getting dark and the owl appeared to be a Saw-whet. 

 I stuffed it in my pocket, and on reaching home tossed 

 it up on a shelf in the woodshed, where it remained for 

 weeks. Finally I got it down one afternoon and was 

 at once impressed by its size, for I now saw^ that it was 

 nearly as big as a Screech Owl. "That's no Saw-whet,'* 

 my wife exclaimed, as I rushed for the reference books. 

 "Richardson's Owl!" I shouted. "What a find!" It 

 proved to be the second one ever taken in Connecticut, 

 the only other having been recorded by Dr. William 

 W^ood, away back in 1861. To this day I have not 

 gotten over the sensation which comes over me when I 

 think of how near I came to missing such a rare find. 



76 



