HISTORY OF CERTAIN GREAT HORNED OWLS — KEYES. 397 



forms the north boundary of the pasture and the woods. Suddenly 

 the hooting of big owls boomed out from a near-by linden of the timber 

 pasture, and there, sure enough, were both birds engaged in ardent 

 courtship and not minding our presence in the least. They stood 

 facing each other on the same branch and, with feathers ruffled and 

 heads bobbing, were hooting in low tones as they side-stepped toward 

 one another and greeted one another with low bows. Finally they 

 flew away, side by side, into the timber tract. That these were 

 transient birds was beyond belief; so, on February 17, after allowing 

 what seemed to be a fair margin of time, I decided to give the vicinity 

 a thorough search. To make the story short, the nest was at last found 

 in the very place where previously it had not seemed worth while to 

 look. It was not in the heavy timber at all, but in one of the large 

 elms of the pasture, and, moreover, hardly more than 50 yards 

 removed from the above-mentioned public road where teams were 

 constantly passing. Toward the south the view was wild, open, and 

 picturesque enough; to the west, north, and east, at distances varying 

 from 200 to 500 yards, were the schoolhouse and farmhouses, as above 

 stated. 



A more fortunate set of conditions for the study of the owls' home 

 life could hardly be hoped for. The short distance from town has 

 already been indicated. The nest was in a large shallow hollow, 

 28 by 32 inches in diameter at the bottom, with an entrance 18 by 20 

 inches in diameter set at an angle of 45° and facing toward the south- 

 east. The hollow was only 8 mches deep on the exposed side, thus 

 permitting fairly good illumination. Of still more importance the 

 nest site was only 22 feet from the ground and a strategic branch 

 some 5 feet above the nest afforded a point of attachment for a ladder 

 combination from which pictures might be taken. As great horned 

 owls generally make use of old hawks' nests placed hi the tops of the 

 largest trees the good fortune of this modest elevation can readily 

 be appreciated. At the very moment when this nest was discovered 

 a second pair of these birds was domiciled in a redtail's nest placed 

 in a tall white elm hi heavy timber 3£ miles to the northwest and just 

 92 feet above the ground. Further, the proximity of farmhouses 

 made certain the necessary supply of ladders and ropes. Mr. Bene- 

 dict, who lived just across the road and only 200 yards to the east, 

 and Mr. McFarland, whose house stood only 75 yards farther to 

 the east, were our interested and generous benefactors. Our oppor- 

 tunities were indeed great and, as I said, we greatly regretted our 

 inability to make better use of them. 



The weather on February 17 was fairly moderate, with the snow 

 melting slightly, though the preceding days from February 6 had 

 been stormy enough, with temperatures as severe as 10 below zero. 

 But the sitting bird was wonderfully protected from the storm 



