38 BIRDS OF LA PLATA 
is, without doubt, due to Fhe active animosity of 
the pampas tribes, who have all the ancient wide- 
spread superstitions regarding the Owl. “Sister of 
the Evil Spirit’ is one of their names for it; they 
hunt it to death whenever they can, and when travel- 
ling will not stop to rest or encamp on a spot where 
an Owl has been spied. Where the country is settled 
by Europeans the bird has dropped its wary habits 
and become extremely tame. They are tenacious 
of the spot they live in, and are not easily driven out 
by cultivation. When the fields are ploughed up 
they make their kennels on their borders, or at the 
roadsides, and sit all day perched on the posts of 
the fences. 
Occasionally they are seen preying by day, especi- 
ally when anything passes near them, offering the 
chance of an easy capture. I have often amused 
myself by throwing bits of hard clay near one as it 
sat beside its kennel; for the bird will immediately 
give chase, only discovering its mistake when the 
object is firmly clutched in its talons. When there 
are young to be fed, they are almost as active by day 
as by night. On hot November days multitudes of 
a large species of Scarabeus appear, and the bulky 
bodies and noisy bungling flight of these beetles 
invite the Owls to pursuit, and on every side they 
are seen pursuing and striking down the beetles, 
and tumbling upon them in the grass. Owls have a 
peculiar manner of taking their prey; they grapple 
it so tightly in their talons that they totter and 
strive to steady themselves by throwing out their 
