LEARNING BIRD LANGUAGE 201 



they carry prey to the roof of the Cabin and pitiful 

 screams of a rabbit are added to the birds' excited 

 pandemonium. The still higher, prolonged, wild- 

 cat or panther scream of the great horned owl is 

 infrequent, uttered, many think, to scare up prey 

 or to paralyze with fright some creature that has 

 been sighted, but I am not sure. This would seem 

 to be the reasonable explanation of it, but every 

 time I have heard it the scream was uttered from 

 high locations and in such a manner that I thought 

 its most probable intent was to breed fear in the 

 forest, to say to all living things that a frightful 

 creature was abroad; therefore it would be highly 

 proper to quake and tremble. I really think this 

 owl scream is uttered with the same intent as the 

 challenging roar of a full-fed lion, secure in his 

 strength, out seeking trouble. I interpret it: "I 

 am here in my might! Come on, if you dare!" 



Danger signals are always heeded by the birds, 

 in no case of the wild more intuitively than by 

 barnyard fowl, which use a prolonged scream. 

 When a little girl, I peeped with breathless interest 

 over my mother's shoulder while she removed 

 newly hatched chickens from under a brooding hen 

 in the fear that the hen would think all of her 

 family had emerged and leave her nest too soon. 

 As my mother lifted the hen to see if she had found 

 all of the chickens, a tiny, triangular piece of shell 

 flew up on an egg. 



"There!" said Mother, "that is the beginning. 



