SHORT-EARED OWL. 115 



could never understand the nature of the glazed window which 

 lighted up his abode ; and many a time I have seen him fly with 

 unabated speed against this, and fall stunned to the floor beneath. 

 This harsh experience I thought must sooner or later teach him 

 more wisdom ; but, alas ! it did not. One morning on entering 

 the room in which I kept him, I found my pet stretched breathless 

 on the floor immediately beneath the window, where he had 

 evidently fallen after a last and, unfortunately, fatal attempt to 

 reach the outside world. 



The chief prey of the Short-eared Owl is insects and field- 

 mice, and he rarely attacks birds, and this only when the 

 former are scarce, namely, during the winter. I have on some 

 occasions met with this bird in unusual numbers in the fields 

 and meadows of Eastern Ontario towards the close of harvest 

 time, when they were very fat. The stomachs of a number which 

 I examined were filled with field-crickets and grasshoppers, and 

 nothing else ; but later in the season they appear to feed more 

 upon the field-mice. Some of these birds remain with us very 

 late, and long after the first snow-falls ; indeed I have met with 

 them occasionally throughout the winter. These winter visitants, 

 however, are exceptions to the general rule, for the majority of 

 the birds undoubtedly leave us in November for the Middle and 

 Atlantic States, where they remain until we have passed through 

 our long, dreary Canadian winter. 



According to Richardson the Short-eared Owl reaches the 

 fur countries as soon as the snow disappears, and departs again 

 in September. They have been met with as far north as latitude 

 67°, and may even extend further. This same writer also states 

 that they are numerous, and hunt frequently for their prey in the 

 day time. But from what I have seen of this bird I know it to 

 see but poorly in the day light, and instances have come under 

 my notice of individuals being captured by hand. 



The nest of this Owl is generally placed on the ground, and 

 consists of dry grass, moss, and feathers placed loosely together. 

 The eggs, however, are often simply laid in a depression in the 



