96 



Bird - Lore 



But who has stirred a Barn Owl? Over the dew-laden meadows he stands 

 guard, or perhaps at the edge of the moonlit corn-fields, waiting for the only 

 prey that seems to interest him. He knows the country like a book, the run- 

 ways of the meadow mouse, the house mouse's path from corn shock to corn 

 shock, the mole's early morning starting point. 



Under the old buttonball tree the broods of young chickens ran from early 

 morning to night. The owner felt that the large Owls were a menace to his 

 flock and watched for them with a gun. But, with the fall of the old tree and 

 a study of their food, a new light has spread to every farm in that vicinity. 



I heard the young Owl's last 'rasp' on October i6; it was full of the weird 

 power which thrills one in the dark hours. A few minutes later, a big bird flew 

 low toward the orchard — the young Owls had taken to hunting at last. 



^ 



In Again 



On Again 



Gone Again! 



Photographs ot a Flicker by A. A. Allen 





