THE OOLOGIST. 



41) 



The Owl. 



A liOY"s COMroSITIoX. 



W(*ii you come to see a owl cloce it has 

 oflie l)ig eyes, mid weu you come to feel it 

 with your tiugers, wich it bites, you fine it 

 ia mosely feathers, with only jn- in^at enuf 

 t ) hole 'em to gether. 



Ouce they was a mau thot he would like 

 a ' pwl for ft pet, so he tola a bird mau to 

 semi him the bes' one iu the shop, but weu 

 it was bro't he lookt at it aud squeezed it, 

 aud it diddeut sute. So the man he rote to 

 the bird mau and said, I'll keep the owl 

 yon sent, tho' it aint like I wanted, but wen 

 it is wore out 3'on mus' make me a other, 

 with littler eyes, for I s'pose these eyes is 

 11 umber twenties, but I want ntmiber sixes 

 and then if T pay you the same price you 

 cau afford to put in more owl. 



Owls has got to have big eyes cos tha 

 has to be out a good deal at nite a doin 

 bisuis with rats and mice, wich keeps late 

 ours They is said to be very wise, but my 

 sister's young man he says any boddy could 

 be wise if thej' would set up nites to take 

 notice. 



That feller comes to oar house jest like 

 lie used to, only more, aud wen I ast him 

 wy he come so much he said he was a man 

 of sieuce. like me, and was a studyiu arni- 

 thogaly, wich was birds. I ast him woe 

 birds he was a stu lyiu, and he said anjils, 

 and wen he said that my sister she lookt 

 out the v>indev aud said wot a fine day it 

 had turn out to be. But it was a rainin 

 cats aud dogs wen she said it. I never see 

 such ft goose in my life as that girl, but 

 Uncle Ned, wich has been in ol parts of the 

 worl, he says they is jes that way iu Patty- 

 g.nny. 



In the picte alphabets the O is some 

 times a owl, and some times it is a ox, but 

 if I made the picters I'de have it stau for 

 a oggur to ])ore holes with. I to!e that to 

 (lie gaffer Peters once wen he was to our. 

 house lookin at my new book, and he said 

 you is right, Johnny, and here is this H 

 .stans fi>r liarp, but who cares for a harp, 

 wy dont they make it stan for a horga/i? 

 He is such a ole fool. 



A Crow Quandary. 



The remark of J. O. S . , in the December 

 OoLOfJisT, that in his locality, the Crow "is 

 undoubtedly becoming less abundant each 

 year. ■' suggests an interesting subject for 

 investigation: for it is generally supposed 

 that the Crow can "hold his own" any- 

 where. 



Here the gradual disappearance of the 

 Crow is not so evident; on the contrary, 

 they seem to be increasing, and the large 

 flocks, which, with him are " things of the 

 past," sre eminently things of the 

 present. 



All through the months of October, 

 November and December, flocks are seen 

 here almost daily, migrating in a leisurely 

 manner toward the south. By the first of 

 Janijary, most of the migrants have dis- 

 appeared and only the resident Crows 

 remain: but about the fir?t of March the 

 van of the large flocks may be again looked 

 for. 



Since, iu the last few years, the Crows 

 have seemingly increased here, the decrease 

 in J. O. S' locality may J)e occasioned by 

 the gradual removal to some other point; 

 aud the increase here, be attributed to the 

 same cause. 



A change, similar to this, was noticed 

 in the nesting habits of the Crows here, 

 duruig 1887-8. In '87 nests were very 

 common and many eggs were taken; but in 

 '88, although there were as many Crows 

 about, they had evidently taken warning 

 b}' their experience of "87, and scarcely a 

 nest was found. 



The migration of the Crows south in 

 autumn has given rise to some puzzling 

 questions. Why do some Crows migrate 

 while others do not ? It has been suggested 

 as an explanation of this question, that it is 

 the females, and perhajs the young males, 

 who migrate, and that only the old males 

 stay all winter in their summer haunts: but 

 this has not been proved. 



I should be pleased to hear from our 

 oologists in regard to the Crow's northern 

 range in winter and also how far south the 

 large flocks go. 



WiLLAPD N. Clt TE, Biughnuiton, N. Y. 



