Massachusetts Audubon Society 7 



down we found a pair industriously at work in an old bird-box near the 

 house. The man said that this pair had been driven from another box 

 by a chipmunk that had eaten the eggs. We were watching the parent 

 birds feed the young one — afternoon — when suddenly one of the party 

 asked what was looking out of the hole. It turned out to be a weasel 

 that had slipped in while the birds were away and we were not looking. 

 In less than five minutes the thing was over. He had killed four out of 

 five young — I had at least wounded him as he was coming out of the 

 box — the parent birds had flown into the box, discov^ered him there, 

 and got out again without damage. We took the box down, found the 

 condition of things inside — removed the dead young (all bitten in the 

 same place, the eye and skull) — replaced the uninjured one (which had 

 evidently escaped because covered by the others) — and put the box 

 back in place. In spite of the fright that the parent birds had gone 

 through, they were back the next day, and continued to feed the single 

 young until it Hew, about ten days later. The food they used interested 

 me for it was "gobs" of gypsy moth caterpillars v,'hic]i they had to fiy 

 about a mile to get. Their courage and persistance under these difficul- 

 ties shows well why they multiply so fast. My man — Swede — tells 

 me that they take these birds at home and teach the young to talk. 



Harold C. Ernst. 



AN ADVENTURE WITH OWLS 



Tuesday July 1st at 5 A.M. a strange noise was heard at the Bird 

 Bath; could not tell whether it was a squirrel, cat or bird. On look- 

 ing we saw on the bath four grey birds — suggesting owls — but the 

 dim morning light made everything indistinct. 



At nine o'clock Tuesday evening, heard the same noise as in the 

 morning, and looking from a screened piazza where we were sitting — 

 we saw at the bath four owls. The piazza was lighted with a red 

 shaded electric light. My daughter and I went out to get nearer the 

 birds, when they flew to our clothes line posts, too high for us to see any 

 detail. 



Thursday night at the same hour they were there again — and we 

 tried to approach them with a flash light. We gained a fair idea of their 

 size, but that was all and two again flew to clothes poles and two to our 

 roof edge. 



Saturday evening they came at nine o'clock. Three on the bath 

 and one on the tree above it, we went toward the bath very slowly and 

 quietly. Two flew into the tree, while one remained on the bath, and 

 allowed us to get very near it, and stared at us in a very friendly way 

 with its yellow eyes. We could see that it had no ears and saw quite 

 plainly the white spots on sides — and^have concluded that they must 

 be Richardson Owls. 



_ The spread of wings in flight however, seemed almost too great for 

 a bird of ten inches — but other detail corresponded to the Richardson. 

 They always announced their coming by the strange noise I am unable 

 to describe. 



These owls were seen at 64 Canton Ave., Milton, Mass. 



Mrs. E. Luther. 



