GREAT GRAY OWL 217 



Mr. Henderson (1923) writes: "As I was looking through my glass 

 at one of the birds about four hundred yards away it started to fly 

 toward me. It came sailing along about two feet from the ground 

 and finally lit on a fence post in front of me which I found afterwards 

 to be just eleven paces distant. It stayed there, staring at me for 

 about a minute and then flew to a small dead snag, and from there 

 to the ground and then to a small stump about two feet high." 



In another article (1915) he tells of the behavior of the owls at the 

 different nests that he found. In several cases he had to rap vigor- 

 ously on the tree to make the owl leave the nest; in one case "the 

 bird remained on the nest until it was touched by the hand." Once, 

 when the owls were perched in a low tree, he "walked right under 

 both birds only a few feet beneath them and neither flew, only turned 

 their heads and stared at" him as he passed. 



Voice. — Mr. Henderson (1923) says of the notes of this owl: "A 

 rather musical whistle was uttered frequently like oo-ih, sometimes 

 very softly, and at others quite loudly. They also hooted several 

 times, a deep booming Who-oo-oo-oo." Several authors have referred 

 to the voice of this owl as a tremulous, vibrating note, somewhat 

 resembling that of the screech owl. 



Field marks. — This is our largest owl in over-all dimensions, but not 

 in bodily bulk or weight. Its wings and tail are very long and broad, 

 giving it great expanse in flight. It has a very large, round head, 

 which seems out of proportion to the rest of its outline, with no ear 

 tufts. Its general color is dark gray. It can be distinguished from 

 the barred owl, the other round-headed large owl, by its much greater 

 apparent size and by its relatively smaller yellow eyes. 



Winter. — Edward H. Forbush (1927) writes: 



When the northern forests fail to produce cones for winter food of small arboreal 

 birds; when deep snows cover the runways of mice, and grasses and weeds that 

 feed ground-birds and when bush rabbits and ptarmigan are scarce in the northern 

 wilderness; then we may expect an unusual invasion of Great Gray Owls. Such 

 a combination of circumstances probably does not occur often, but in the winter 

 of 1842-43, according to Dr. Samuel Abbott, seven of these birds were taken in 

 Massachusetts, and probably many more were seen and went unrecorded. In 

 the winter of 1890-91 such numbers of this species were killed in eastern Maine 

 that Mr. Crosby, taxidermist of Bangor, received 27 specimens. Some birds 

 from this flight reached eastern Massachusetts, where a few were taken. * * * 

 The bird is reported here and there in northern New England nearly every winter, 

 but is noted seldom in any of the three southern New England states. Although 

 it is a forest bird, it may be found almost anywhere in winter outside the cities 

 and very rarely even within city limits, but it prefers deep woods, and as it is here 

 chiefly in winter and moves about mainly at night, it is rarely seen. 



In his paper on the birds of Toronto, Canada, J. II. Fleming (1907) 

 thus refers to it: 



Winter migrant of irregular occurrence. The great flight that took place in . 

 the winter of 18S9-90 is recorded by Mr. Win. Cross. "I have received twenty- 

 13751—38 15 



