256 BULLETIN 17 0, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



the whole body being stretched to its limit, the wings and feathers 

 held as close to the body as possible. This gave them the appearance 

 of two long stubs, the top of the head being nearly square across. 

 The eyes were slanted slits, and while the head was directly toward 

 me, the body was swung sideways so as to keep the wing in front as 

 a shield ; in other words, they were looking over their shoulders. In 

 fact, one of them, as I walked part way around them, suddenly swung 

 halfway around, so that it was looking at me over the other shoulder. 

 After a few moments one of them evidently realized that it was dis- 

 covered and underwent a sudden transformation; from a vertical 

 position it quickly assumed a horizontal one, of only about one-half 

 as great a height. It thus assumed a squatting position across the 

 branch, the feathers being fluffed out, the head a round ball, the 

 round eyes wide open, and with one click of the bill, it flew heavily 

 away. A few moments later, the other bird followed in exactly the 

 same line of performances." 



Lewis O. Shelley writes to me: "As we were walking up a hill road 

 we spied a screech owl, in gray phase, perched on a short limb tight 

 up against the bare trunk of an ash tree. As we came into sight, 

 very slowly the bird attained the protective pose of a dead stub. We 

 approached to within 12 feet, waved our arms, called and even tossed 

 pebbles. But the bird was fain to move as it sat, eyes half closed, 

 in the warm sun. We each had an orange and were debating tossing 

 them up at the bird. But the instant we drew them forth and the 

 sun struck them, emphasizing their golden color, the bird quickly 

 resumed its normal attitude, edged along the limb and, spreading its 

 wings, noiselessly swept away." 



Voice. — The name of this owl is somewhat unfortunate, as it very 

 seldom indulges in anything that can rightly be called a screech. Mr. 

 Forbush (1927) heard such a note from only one individual, of which 

 he says: "It resembled the note of the siren whistle, beginning low 

 and full and gradually rising without the usual tremolo until it ended 

 in a shrill shriek." 



Francis H. Allen has given me his description of two of the notes: 

 (1) "the well-known wail, or whinny, the so-called love song, consisting 

 of a succession of short, even, low notes delivered with varying degrees 

 of rapidity. It also varies in pitch. Sometimes the first part is slow 

 and the latter part rapid, virtually a trill"; (2) "wheeoo, a mellow 

 whistle with a falling inflection, often followed by three shorter notes, 

 each a very little higher in pitch than the preceding note — wheeoo, 

 woo, woo, woo." 



I am tempted to quote Thoreau's (Langille, 1884) graphic descrip- 

 tion of the love song; he says: "It is no honest and blunt tu-whit, tu- 

 who of the poets, but, without jesting, a most solemn, graveyard 

 ditty, the mutual consolations of suicide lovers remembering the 



