THIRD ANNUAL MEETING 47 



In the evening the passing trolley cars, two blocks away, were a source 

 of constant wonderment to them, and with outstretched necks they 

 would peer after the mysterious lights until they were out of sight. 

 Apparently their vision was as perfect in the daytime as at night. One 

 of their iieculiar traits was to stare intently at the sun for minutes 

 at a time. They were furnished with a pan of water, and one at least 

 took pleasure in bathing, after his own fashion, which consisted in 

 standing in the water "waist deep." 



They were very sociable, following each other from place to place and 

 sleeping close together. They were as cautious in moving about the 

 branches as though a fall would be a dangerous experience, although 

 they could ily from perch to perch and alight with the greatest ac- 

 curacy. 



One of the owls liked to be stroked, and gave every evidence of 

 enjoying the sensation of having his feathers smoothed. The other, 

 however, was not so inclined, and would indignantly edge away side- 

 wise the whole length of a branch to escape the ordeal. 



They had a most peculiar and apparently uncomfortable Avay of 

 sleeping. Perching upon a limb, they would settle themselves with 

 the head hanging far down on one side of the limb and the tail on the 

 other. Thej' would rest in this way for an hour or two in the middle 

 of the dav% and sometimes in the latter part of the afternoon. When 

 visited after dark, they were invariably awake and active. 



They gradually became more wild, striking most wonderful attitudes 

 with outstretched wings and snapping bills when any one entered the 

 room. Their growing activity made their room seem altogether too 

 small for them, and when at the end of three wrecks they had learned 

 to swoop down iqjon their food instead of waiting to be fed, and to 

 pounce accurately upon the hapless June beetles they liked so well, 

 they were considered ready for freedom. They were accordingly 

 packed in a large basket covered with cloth, taken on the train to a 

 station in Iowa, and from there carried a considerable distance to a 

 large piece of woodland, away from the railroad and highway, where 

 it was believed they would be free from gunners and allowed to live 

 their lives in peace and happiness. They had been many hours in their 

 narrow prison, and it was interesting to see them when they took their 

 first taste of liberty. Although they had never had a chance to fly 

 farther than from one side to the other of a room, their first flight in 

 the woods was a liundred yards down a shady ^ista. I had taken my 

 camera and a dozen i^lates, expecting to get some good pictures of 

 them in natural surroundings, and this sudden taking of themselves 

 off was contrary to the program. They had alighted upon the ground 

 and were easily recaptured and brought back. But their one taste 

 of freedom made them a part of the wild, and they were no longer 

 the docile subjects to which I had been accustomed. Both threw them- 

 selves on their backs and fought and scratched vigorously. After many 



