316 The Screech Owl 
it might be the sight of Billy that was causing this 
uneasiness among the birds. Sure enough, in a snug 
retreat formed by some branches sat Billy, with his 
eyelids slightly open, trying to discover what all this 
fuss was about. I returned him to his home, and 
for the next two weeks he was to be found there nearly 
every day, Betty, however, was the more regular of 
the two. The owls never seemed to be hungry, but 
this I accounted for by the fact that in the next yard 
there were several evergreens, where English spar- 
rows roosted and nested in considerable numbers. 
Vacation time came and passed, and when I re- 
turned, Billy was not in, but Betty was at home and 
had grown both in stature and in beauty during my 
absence. It seemed to me that the sparrows had 
greatly diminished in number, much to my joy. In 
a few days Billy returned, and he too had grown to 
be a beauty. 
During the autumn and early winter they were to 
be found the greater part of the time in their snug 
house in the cherry tree, but occasionally one or 
both would be absent for two or three days at a time. 
It is now the first of February 1905, and the little owls 
are still “at home.” I hope that they are rightly 
named, “Billy” and ‘Betty,’ and that when spring 
arrives they will decide to nest in their present abode. 
