644 THE BIRDS OF MANITOBA THOMPSON. 



would have distiugnislied much older birds; but as they did not attempt 

 to use their formidable talous, we did not suffer much inconvenience 

 from their menaces. One of them had been iujured, and died before 

 we reached home, the others throve and readily ate from our hands 

 from the first. They solicited food by a short scream very like that of 

 a Night Hawk; they menaced by snapping their bills and hissing, and 

 expressed surprise and anger by a querulous whistle. 



By the time they were about two months old they were fully fledged 

 and could fly fairly well. In general color they were pale buff with 

 black bars; a little lighter than the typical Bubo virginiamis, but con- 

 siderably darker than the mother. At this time the horns were less 

 conspicuous than when in the down. 



They ejected a pellet about five times per week, and if supplied with 

 more food than required for present use they hid it until they were 

 hungry. 



At first we (Dr. Gilbert and myself) were in hopes of taming them, 

 but their ferocity grew with their growth, and when they were able to 

 fly, so far from submitting to be handled it was not safe for a stranger 

 to come near them. No better illustration of their strength and fierce- 

 ness could be given than the fact that, on one occasion, when they were 

 left without food for a longer time than usual, they killed and ate a fine 

 full-grown Swainson's Buzzard, which was confined in the same barn 

 with themselves; and subsequently they did the same with another 

 bird of the same species, which I had always thought strong enough 

 and quick enough to take care of himself. 



At the age of 10 weeks a perceptible change in their plumage began 

 to take place; the buffy feathers of the breast gradually giving place to 

 the pure white of the old birds, amounting almost to a transition from 

 the B. virginianus form to that of the B. v. arcticus. 



They continued to grow until they were nearly G months old. Their 

 appetites were large and very fastidious, for they would eat half a 

 pound of meat per day each, and would relish only such as was per- 

 fectly fresh. 



Towards the end of October they seemed to have ceased growing 

 and were contented with smaller rations; their horns were fully devel- 

 oped ; they had made their first attempt at hooting, and otherwise mani- 

 fested their conviction that they now were able-bodied owls on their 

 own account. 



In November I was so much from home that they did not get more 

 than 3 meals per week, and it was useless to give them a large quantity 

 of food at a time, as it froze to a stony hardness in a few minutes; 

 therefore, as I could not feed them properly, I thought it better to kill 

 them. When the first was quieted, he proved on examination to be 

 excessively fat, notwithstanding his month on short allowance. Under 

 these circumstances sentence on No. 2 was commuted. However, a 

 storm tore open his house; he escaped, but continued about the build- 



