338 LAND-BIRDS AND GAME-BIKDS 



asleep it awakes instantl}' on its name being pronounced, and 

 will answer as quickl}' as wlien awake. I have heard it utter 

 its peculiar quavering note on one or two occasions, which, 

 notwithstanding its reputed niournfulness, has much that 

 sounds pleasant to m}' ears. AVhen moving along a plane sur- 

 face. Scops progresses, with a half walk, half hop, which is 

 certainl}' not the most graceful gait possible. 



" When out at night among the trees Scops acts in much 

 the same manner as when in the house, liopping from limb to 

 liml), looking about with a quick, graceful motion of the head, 

 sometimes turning the head around so that the face conies di- 

 rectly behind. 



" When it returns to the house in the morning, da3'light is 

 often long passed, and even sunrise. The alarm note is a kind 

 of low moan ; this was often uttered at the sight of a tamed 

 gray squirrel (but with which it has now become better ac- 

 quainted), and ahvaj's at the sight of its old enem}', the dog. 



"■ While flying. Scops moves through the air with a quick, 

 steady motion, alighting on any object without missing a foot- 

 hold. I never heard it utter a note when thus moving. When 

 perching, it does not grasp with its claws, but holds them at 

 some distance from the wood, clasi)ing with the soles of the 

 toes. When it has eaten enough of a bird, it hides the re- 

 maining portions in any convenient place near b^'. * * * 



"Sometimes in the daytime it will take a sudden start, flit- 

 ting about the room like a spectre, alighting on different ob- 

 jects to peer about, which it does by moving sideways, turning 

 the head in various directions, and going through many curious 

 movements; but it always returns to its perch and settles. 

 down quietly'. 



" I once placed a stuffed owl of its own species near it, 

 when it ruflled its feathers, gave a series of hisses, moans, and 

 smippings of the beak, and stretched out one wing at full 

 length in front of its head as a shield to repulse what it took 

 to be a stranger invading its own domains. As tiie stuffed 

 bird was pushed nearer. Scops budged not an inch, but looked 

 fiercer than ever; its ruffled back-feathers were erected high, 

 its eyes sparkled, and its whole attitude was one of war. 



