. OF NEW ENGLAND. 335 



and swamps, often ensconced in the hole of a tree, though they 

 sometimes perch on a bough. They may be closely approached 

 on a bright daj', and do not fly far if disturbed. Immediately 

 after sunset, however, they become full of animation and cour- 

 age, and even venture into open lands. One would suppose it 

 difficult for them to find enough food, but they undoubtedly 

 surprise small birds at roost, easily detect the slightest move- 

 ment of any small quadruped in the grass, and readily pick up 

 such insects as sing through the night, or indeed others. They 

 probabl}' do not often feed on reptiles. 



(d). Their extraordinary love-notes are doubly deceptive, 

 from their strong resemblance to the noise of a saw-mill, and 

 from the ventriloquism with which they are uttered. I have, 

 however, vainly tried to produce similar sounds through vari- 

 ous combinations of files and saws. The Saw-whet Owls, as 

 they are called on account of these notes, have also a single 

 low cry. 



V. SCOPS 



(A) Asio. Screecli Owl. Motllecl Owl. lied Owl. 



(A common summer-resident, but here rare, or absent, in 

 winter.) 



(a). Averaging nine inches in length. Gray, or brownish- 

 red, paler below; variously marked, chiefly with black. 



(6). The eggs are laid in the hollow of a tree, an apple-tree 

 being frequently selected, in which are often placed a few sim- 

 ple materials, such as leaves or dr}'- grass. The eggs, of which 

 four are here laid about the middle of April, average 1-35 X 

 1*20 of an inch, though occasionally specimens measure 1'50 

 X 1'30 of an inch. They are white, and nearly spherical. 



(c). The Screech Owls are probably the most well-known of 

 the American Owls, owing to their general abundance in the 

 United States, their frequent occurrence near the haunts of 

 man, and their peculiar tremulous notes. During the day, they 

 rest in the hollow of a tree, a thick evergreen, or even the hay- 

 loft of a barn, but from these retreats they are sometimes 

 dri\en by impertinent Juys and other tormentors. They seem 



