156 BoLLES, Notes on Whip-poor-wills and Otvls. [April 



when I "whip." Fhes near his stone, clucks in the woods, — flops 

 into cherry tree. Have heard no full song for several days. 

 23. Several full song many times, 6.30 p. m. 



Owl Notes. 



I wrote ni}^ article for ' The Auk ' ^ late in December, and early in 

 January. The owls have not bathed much during the winter 

 perhaps because I have not been regular in giving them fresh water. 

 Fluffy ate nothing, so far as I could ascertain between Dec. 15 and 

 Feb. 1. About this time I began to make efforts to vary their diet. 

 I gave up kidneys and gave them mice, grouse wings and heads, a 

 rabbit and fish heads. Fluffy was won over by mice into open eat- 

 ing. Early in February I enlarged their space by making a wire 

 room outside their closet. About three weeks later I gave them half 

 the cellar enclosed in wire netting and built them a hollow tree of 

 barrels. It was about February 10 that I noticed their gathering 

 of material in one corner of a shelf in their closet. Feathers, cotton 

 batting, and dry leaves were placed in a flat layer over the board. 

 It is now March 16, and I am satisfied that they keep constant 

 watch of this place. They remove any additional material which 

 I place near the flat bed. Just about a week ago I began giving 

 them eggshells and eggs. During the week they have eaten the 

 shells of nearly two dozen eggs. For example, this morning I gave 

 them the shells of six eggs covered with the contents of one store 

 egg. Both owls were hungry and they went for the dish in haste. 

 Every considerable part of shell, membrane and yolk etc. was 

 eaten within ten minutes. The taste of the fresh egg pleases them 

 greatly and they crackle the shell in their beaks with evident 

 enjoyment. Fluffy is expert in catching mice or grouse wings 

 thrown into the air. Both birds have fully regained their appetite. 

 A large haddock head is devoured in 48 hours, practically noth- 

 ing is left of it, except the two largest bones and not always 

 those. I am feeding them light. This week they have had five 

 mice, one fish head, two eggs and the mass of egg shells. They no 

 longer show much interest in the cat when she walks about the 

 cellar floor outside their pen. About a week ago both birds got 

 out through a corner of the wire netting next the floor. I do not 



' Cf. ■ The Auk," 1890, pp. 101-114. 



