THE OWL FAMILY 179 
cannot see them well, we know very little of their 
ways. ‘They are more often heard than seen. 
Their voices are generally mournful, but that is 
no reason why they should be feared. 
All birds have control over some of their 
feathers, that is, they can make them stand 
up or lie down as they choose. But owls have 
more than any other bird. An owl can alter his 
shape or size so that he will look like another 
bird. 
Mr. Bolles says that a large owl can change 
from a mass of bristling feathers a yard wide, to 
a slim, sleek brown post only a few inches wide. 
When he does this, one cannot see him, though 
he may be in plain sight. His colors blend with 
a tree trunk, or stump, and he can stand without 
stirring for an hour, and likes to do it. 
Mr. Bolles had owls in the house, and watched 
them closely. He has told us some curious 
things about their ways. He says that when one 
steps daintily across the floor, his feathers tuck 
themselves up as a lady holds up her gown. 
This moving of the feathers sometimes looks 
very droll. When eating, the feathers around 
the mouth, which might get soiled, draw back 
out of the way. And when an owl wants to hide 
his food, he stands over it, and the feathers 
droop down like a curtain to screen it from view. 
