DELAWARE VALLEY ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 27 



About the same date I visited a large, partly dead chestnut 

 tree in East Whiteland township, where I learned a pair of Barn 

 Owls had nested for a number of years, the secret being very 

 closely guarded, and a portion of the brood being taken each 

 season and sold or mounted. This particular year they did not 

 nest there, the cavity being occupied by a pair of Sparrow Hawks. 



This tree was an immense chestnut that stood in the middle 

 of a large iield. It had decayed and the center had been burned 

 out until it remained a mere shell, while a large, hollow limb 

 made an ideal home for the Owls. 



During the sunniier of 1903, a brood of six Barn Owls was 

 raised in East Bradford township. This nest was also in a large, 

 isolated chestnut tree on a hill. The young birds were said to 

 be quite tame, and someone fancying that Owls were only made 

 to be shot at, killed the whole brood. 



Early in May of the present year, another nest with six eggs 

 was found in Westtown township, one mile south of West 

 Chester. This nest was also in a large chestnut tree, standing 

 alone in a field. A pair of Sparrow Hawks shared possession 

 of the tree with the Owls. 



All of the 3'oung were raised, two of them were in my posses- 

 sion for about three months and they made very interesting 

 pets, though they never became at all tame, or allowed them- 

 selves to be handled without biting or striking with their claws. 

 During the day they huddled together in the darkest corner of 

 the cage, with eyes nearly closed and in a crouching position, 

 and when disturbed would shake their heads in a most doleful 

 manner. The only noise they made was a shrill cry that 

 sounded like scraping ice with a knife. Rats and mice were 

 their favorite food, though fresh meat of any kind was acceptable. 



Early in December, 1904, a young Barn Owl was found dead 

 under a large poplar tree in Willistown township. It was still 

 partly covered with down and could not have been over eight 

 weeks old, so that it must have been hatched about the first of 

 October. This would seem in a measure to confirm some of the 

 accounts we have had of the irregular nesting habits of these 

 birds. The nest from which this bird had fallen was in a hol- 

 low limb near the top of the tree. 



