Barn Owls Nesting in New York City 229 



The silualion was as plain as it was painful. I'lu- binl that wr had just 

 photographed was the male, who had been [)erchinjj; somewhere in the loft 

 and had left at the sound of footsteps on the ladder. The female had remained 

 at her post (which hapjiened to l)e a nest containing eight eggs), where she 

 had been discovered and captured by our "assistant." The bird's screams 

 of distress suggested that Iht captor might be either choking her to death or 

 wringing her neck. 



"What's the trouble?" cried .\bbott. 



"Oi'x'e got an owooll" shouted the Irishman. 



"Let her go!" commanded Abbott. 



"She's too valuable" came from the recesses of the loft. 



"Don't hurt her, I tell you I" we both called in chorus. 



"Oi can get $5.00 for her" returned the villain from within. 



"You can't get a cent for her" Abbott explained;" it's against the law 

 to kill her. She's worth more ali\e than dead, and we'll make it worth your 

 while to let her go." 



But the only answer was another series of sickening outcries from the poor 

 bird, so Abbott, who was nearest the end of the eaves, left his camera and 

 made a rapid descent, to have, if necessary, a rather forcible interview with 

 the man in the coop. Fortunately, for the Owl, the Irishman, on discovering 

 that we were angry at his holding the bird captive, had not injured her in the 

 least; and, when confronted by Abbott in person, he surrendered the prize. 



We then talked to the man as pleasantly as possible under the circum- 

 stances, and explained that the Owls caught more rats and mice about the 

 farm than a dozen cats. We did not forget, however, that it is wise occasion- 

 ally to base one's reasoning on the fact that money, in such cases, speaks 

 louder than words. A substantial "tip" was pressed into our friend's palm, 

 as he was instructed to have an eye to the welfare of the Owls and, as we bade 

 him farewell and hinted that we would return in a week or two, he smiled 

 and said, "Lave it to me. There'll be nobody touchin' 'em if I know about it!" 



Much to my relief, the subsequent visit proved that, although a few of the 

 eggs had met with disaster, the rest had hatched and the young were in good 

 condition. On this occasion I was accompanied by Mr. Davis, and, with his 

 assistance, succeeded in again photographing the old Owl as she flew from the 

 cote. Her mate was absent. 



The Owlets were, at that stage in their development, about as ill-propor- 

 tioned and unsightly as anything in the bird world. One of them we photo- 

 graphed. His feathers were still in the sheaths, his feet were large and ungainly, 

 and hi^ head was so big and heavy that it could only be swung slowly from 

 side to side, much after the manner in which an elephant swings his trunk. 

 While he was being handled and photographed, he was heard to gi\-e forth 

 two or three different sounds, the one most frequently uttered l^eing a i)lain- 

 tive chi-lc-lc-le, chi-le-ie-le, chi-le-le-le, repeated very rapidly. 



