HAWK OWL— DAY OWL. 153 



having now myself seen both the Hawk Owl and Snowy Owl 

 drink water freely and even delight to wash in it, I am convinced 

 that all other Owls do the same. We thus weed out another 

 incorrect and " idle tale " from our ornithological biographies. But 

 to return to our Hawk Owl. He soon became quite at home in 

 the stable in which he was confined, and amused us greatly by his 

 cunninor and droll antics. He was a great mouser, and was ever 

 on the watch for these animals. When thus watching he gener- 

 ally took up a position on the edge or corner of a box immediately 

 above a mouse or rat-hole, and there remained patiently for 

 hours at a time. In this position — his most natural one — he was 

 mounted after death, and the portrait here presented is " true to 

 life." Nevertheless, his attitude has already been found fault with 

 by a few of my ornithological friends to whom I happened to 

 show some of the advanced Plates of the work. They assure 

 me that " the bird will hardly be recognized as the Hawk Owl." 

 To these, and all such critics, however, I have simply to say, 

 a Hawk Owl it is nevertheless, and a very beautiful specimen in 

 full plumage. It may be unlike the majority of figures extant 

 and the greater number of stuffed specimens in collections — most 

 of which have been drawn and mounted by artists and naturalists 

 who have never set eyes upon the living bird — but I can vouch 

 for its resemblance to the bird kept alive by myself, and which, 

 now mounted in my collection, constantly recalls to my memory 

 many an amusing incident in connection with its short term of 

 captivity. 



Sr. Chak. Wings r.uhev long, fir.st three quills incised on the'r inner webs ; tail long, with 

 its central feathers about two inches longer than the outer ; tarsi and toes densely feathered ; upper 

 parts fuliginous brown, with numerous partially concealed circular spots of white on the neck 

 behind scapulars and wing coverts ; face grayish white ; throat white, with longitudinal stripes of 

 dark brown ; a large brown spot on each side of the breast ; other under parts with transverse 

 lines or stripes of pale ashy-brown ; quills and tail brown, with transverse bands of white. Bill 

 pale yellowish ; irides yellow. Color on the upper parts darker on the head, and the white 

 markings more or less numerous in different specimens. 



Total length — Female : 16.00 to 17.00 inches ; wing, 9.00 ; tail, 7.00. 

 " ^Male, a shade smaller. 



The difference between the male and female birds of this 

 species is, as a general rule, hardly perceptible. Both are marked 



