•1// rights rcscnrd]. [June, 1917. 



BIRD NOTES: 



THE 



JOURNAL OF THE FOREIGN BIRD CLUB. 



The Spectacled Owl. 

 Syrnhim perspicillaiuvt. 

 By Miss E. F. Chawxer. 



Last July I received a specimen of this fine Owl, which 

 n:)w is not often imjiorted to tliis country, tlioiigli at one time 

 it was well known in the Zooloi;ical ( iardens of London, and 

 called there the Downy Owl. This name does not well de- 

 scribe it, for several other kinds of owls have a more downy 

 a])perirance than this rather close-feathered bird. 



The .Spectacled ( )wl is widely spread over Central and 

 Xorthern .S. America and is a purelv tropical species. It has 

 the re])utation of bein^- naturally tame, which my bird fully 

 l)ears out. The day after his arrival he sidled along his perch 

 and held down his head, as a Parrot does, when inviting a 

 friend " to scratch a poll " and with the same object, for no- 

 thing gives him greater pleasure than to have his head scrat- 

 ched witli a finger or a bit of stick. He is absolutely fearless 

 and perfectly gentle, and has evidently been much petted. 

 When he arrived he was in good plumage but his first wash 

 showed that he had a good deal of dirt to get rid of. He uses 

 his bath freely, and has a curious haljit of dipping his face 

 into water after feeding His voice is gruff, something 

 Ijetween a growl and a hoarse chuckle; combined with his oddly 

 maiked face and big yellow black pupilled eyes the effect is 

 rather startling, and makes one feel that his name " Bogey " is 

 well bestowed. 



The photograph gives such a good idea of his appear- 

 ance that T need only say tliat his back is not black, but the 

 shade known as " tctc dc iicgrc,'' and his breast and under 



