THE OOJ.OGIST 



87 



inaii to pick out this specimen from 

 your collection. 



Never lay iiside ;i mounted specimen 

 simply because it has lost some feathers 

 from different parts of the body, but 

 take your tweezers and some l)ric-a- 

 brac skin and glue (liquiil glue prefer- 

 red) set feathers in the vacant spots. 

 Be careful and get feathers that match 

 in color and markings. 



I hope this will help at least a few, and 

 in the near future hear from others who 

 have any suggestions to offer. 



N.\TH,\N L. Davls. 

 Rochester. N. Y. 



Great Horned Owl in Iowa. 



As I was looking across the eold, 

 bleak fields to-day (Jan. 28) toward the 

 timber, my attention was attracted l)y 

 the clatter of crows. They seemed to 

 be finding fault with a large dark-color- 

 ed bird which v\ assitting with apparent 

 indiliVrence in the top of a tall cotton- 

 wood tree. I listened intently and soon 

 heard the low but distinct hoo-hoo of 

 what I felt certain was a male Gt. 

 Horned Owl. This not only reminds 

 me that the nesting .season of this bird 

 is here, but that I had intiM-esting ex- 

 periences with Jii/ho last winter which 

 I could relate to the OciLOGiST readers, 

 the powers that be permitting. 



My collecting notes for 1892 show 

 that I collected six sct'sof the Gt. Horned 

 Owl in the vicinity of Norway, Benton 

 Co., Iowa. It is the points of interest 

 in connection with the collection of 

 these sets, and also in connection with 

 two other sets which 1 might l»ave col- 

 lected but (/m/«7, thai I wish 10 give. 



The size, shape, color, measurements 

 etc., of the eggs themselves are prob- 

 al)ly tot) well kuMwn toi-er|uire m»Mition 

 here. 



RIy long hunting trips were all fruit- 

 less until F.:'b. 13 which will be remem- 

 bered as the warm clear day on which 

 occurred our most brilliant display of 

 auroi-.i borealis. 1 had Iraveletl eight 



miles through patches of timlnn" lap- 

 ping with a stout stick on hollow trees 

 or the trunks of others containing old 

 nesls. One large bass-wood contained 

 an old nest jibout sixty- five feet from 

 the ground which from appearances 

 had not been used for years. After 

 giving the trunk of the tree two or three 

 raps with no rcisult. I was about to pass 

 on; but. as the snow was soft and wet, 

 I concluded to lay siege to the nest for 

 a minute in another way. Taking a 

 position wiieie the nest could bi; plain- 

 ly seen, I was encouraged at seeing 

 what looke<l like a small tuft of brown 

 feathers projecting above the mass of 

 sticks. Then taking aside stej) I could 

 see another tuft near il. and the snow 

 balls began to fiy in earnest. 



One of them struck a branch less than 

 two feet above the nest and the pieces 

 Hew in all directions, but those ear tufts 

 did not move. Exasperated at this I 

 started up the tree, and when part way 

 lip the owl left the nest, the thive fresh 

 eggs formed a pretty center to the ring 

 of snow which encircled them. 



Set two, Feb. 20, consisting of two 

 fresh eggs was found fifty feet from the 

 the ground in an old hawk's nest in a 

 white oak tree. The owl in this case 

 left the nest at the rap ou the trunk; al- 

 though the day was much colder than 

 in the previous instance. 



In tilt; case of set three the owl was 

 remarkable in jiisl llic opjiosite <lirec- 

 lion from the «)iie with set one. I found 

 the nest with a few loose feathers cling- 

 ing to it by the middle of February, but 

 conid not see or hear an owl anywhere. 

 I thought bei-t not to disturb ihe-nest 

 for a while, so went again in aitout ten 

 days, and, although I approached the 

 nest cautiously, it was with the same 

 result as before. On Feb. 2!» I went l.> 

 the nest again, Init i>y a route fniiii 

 which I could get a view of the nest at 

 adislaiiceof two or thre(! hundrnl yards. 

 'J'his time I was just cpiick <'iiough to 

 see the bird sliji lioni the nest, drop 



