The Interesting Barn Owl 



93 



not a feather of any kind, although the little chickens had been running about 

 and roosting all spring and summer within a few feet — alluring, easy and con- 

 stantly announcing their presence by seductive peeping. 



The old hollow must have suffered long use. It opened toward the south 

 through a large limb hole about thirty feet from the ground, and also upward 

 through the broken top of the tree; though that exit was not used, and probably 

 only served to let in a veritable deluge of water during the thunderstorms. No 



A YOUNG BARN OWL 



doubt, too, the young Owls amused themselves watching the clouds and the 

 stars pass slowly over their heads day by day, with the added excitement of a 

 Hawk, Buzzard, or smaller bird now and then. They rested on layers of debris 

 which, when examined, showed that honey bees had once been tenants, and 

 later bats and generations of Owls, perhaps many other birds, for hollows have 

 a strange, interesting history. 



The birds themselves seemed about the size of old ones without the full 

 feathering, strong muscle and weight. They were so queer and wore such 



