THE SHORT-EARED OWL. 



'^I think," said Bobbie, looking 

 over the present number of 

 Birds, " that the Owl, instead of 

 the Red-eyed Vireo, ought to be 

 called ' The Preacher.' " 



'^ Why ? ' said his mamma, 

 always pleased at herboy'sfancy. 



"Because the Owl looks so wise 

 — and — solemn ! " said Bobby. 



Mamma laughed. 



'' He does look solemn," she 

 agreed, " but about his wisdom 

 I am not so certain. Turn to 

 the text and let us see what he 

 does say about himself." 



'^ Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo ! " 



" That doesn't sound very 

 wise," said Bobbie, reading 

 aloud, " though Mr. Shouter's 

 preaching sounds like that to me 

 sometimes." 



" Does it ? " replied mamma, 

 suppressing a smile, "well goon 

 and see what else he says." 



" I'm not a Screech Owl, nor a 

 BarnOwLnor aGreatHornedOwL 

 nor a Long-eared Owl, though 

 I am related to each of them. 

 Mr. Screech Owl thinks he is 

 a singer, and so does Mr. Horned 

 Owl. Between you and me, I 

 think both their songs most dole- 

 ful ditties. One gentleman says 

 Mr. Horned Owl hoots in B flat, 

 another says in F sharp, and 

 another in A flat. I must con- 

 fess it all sounds very flat to me. 

 " I don't pretend to sing at all. 



Sometimes I feel like saying 

 something, just to hear the sound 

 of my own voice, and then I 

 shout ' Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo!' as loud 

 as I can. If there are little 

 Owls in the nest, and anything 

 approaches them, I give a shrill, 

 hollow cry, at the same time 

 snapping my bill spitefully. 



" I am sometimes called the 

 Marsh Owl, because I frequent 

 the grassy Marshes instead of 

 the woods. I don't confine my- 

 self to prowling around only in 

 the night time, like some Owls I 

 know, but you will see me about 

 also on dark days, and some- 

 times even ' when the sun is 

 shining. 



" My eyes, you see, are round 

 and yellow just like a cat's, 

 shining in the dark like his. 

 Indeed there is a good deal of 

 the cat in my nature. When 

 stealing on my prey I go about 

 it just as stealthily as he does. 

 Like him I catch mice too, but 

 I also like beetles, gophers, and 

 all sorts of little water birds. 



" I have only two eyes, but I 

 have two sets of eyelids. One I 

 draw over my eyes in the day 

 time, a thin sort of curtain to 

 keep out the light, and the other 

 a heavy curtain which I pull 

 down when I go to sleep. I'm 

 going to sleep now. Good night! 

 or, rather, good morning! " 



25 



