Vol 'l9li VI11 ] Sherman, Nest Lif: of the Screech Owl. 159 



the top of the head looked like the gray hair that covers a low, 

 imbecile forehead: the eyes not fully open were bluish in color, 

 and had a bleared and half-blind appearance. This loathsome 

 semblance lasted no longer than ten days by which time the eyes 

 were full and bright and yellow, the bird was covered with a thick 

 gray down, and looked as if a fac-simile of it could very easily be 

 made from a bunch of gray wool devoid of any anatomy. After 

 this its aspect steadily improved as its feathery covering developed. 

 All the young were of the red phase, as were both of the parents, 

 the male being a deeper rufous. 



A friend, a Southern lady, well known because of her writings 

 on negro folk-lore, has written me that the negroes call this species 

 of owl the Shivering Owl. Some ornithologists have suggested 

 that this common name may have reference to the shivering quality 

 of the bird's call-notes. It seems possible that ornithologists may 

 have overlooked a characteristic of this species apparently famil- 

 iar to many a pickaninny as well as to some bird-nesting boys of a 

 lighter color, and that this owl may have been called the Shivering 

 Owl, because it shivers. It certainly shivers, that it screeches may 

 be a question for dispute. This peculiarity is one of the early 

 things to be observed in the life of these nestlings ; but the shiver- 

 ing does not become very pronounced until the bird is two days 

 old, and continues until it is about two weeks old, at which time 

 the young owl is well covered with thick down : therefore it seems 

 quite possible that it shivers because it is cold. To this argument 

 two facts lend weight, one is that the trembling diminishes gradu- 

 ally as the down grows thicker, and the other that the quivering 

 bird sitting on the palm of one hand becomes quiet when well 

 covered by the other hand. 



The power of locomotion seems to be very good in young owlets ; 

 when one was but a day old it was placed on the floor of the blind 

 where it moved the distance of a foot or more in a very few minutes. 

 As soon as their eyes were fairly open they moved about freely in 

 the nest. On May 3 the oldest owlets kept their eyes open a narrow 

 crack, their lids were red giving the appearance of sore eyes: five 

 days later they looked around as if "taking notice," this was the 

 day upon which they first showed fear. When about three weeks 

 old their manner of winking became a noticeable feature; catching 



