THE AUK: 



A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF 



ORNITHOLOGY. 

 vol. vii. April, 1890. No. 2. 



BARRED OWLS IN CAPTIVITY. 



BY FRANK BOLLES. 



Chocorua is one of the boldest, most picturesque, and at the 

 same time one of the most southerly, of the White Mountains of 

 New Hampshire. At its southern foot are several small lakes fed 

 by its streams. The chief of these streams is called Chocorua 

 River, and its main lake Chocorua Lake. North of this water, 

 fringing the river for half a mile, is a growth of yellow birch, 

 beech, and hemlock of considerable age and size. The dainty 

 Panda is frequently seen in its gray moss. Cooper's Hawks, 

 Broad-winged Hawks, and Yellow-bellied Woodpeckers are com- 

 mon tenants of its shades. On June i, iSSS, while nest-hunting 

 in its midst, I saw a Barred Owl sitting on the edge of a cavity 

 in a beech. The tree was a giant. The cavity was about thirty- 

 five feet from the ground, on the southwesterly side, and quite 

 large. The Owl did not move, even after I threw a stick at her. 

 Convinced that the cavity was worth exploring, I went home and 

 returned with a friend, a ladder, and a gun. As a result two old 

 birds were shot, and two young ones taken from the nest. The 

 gun was quite necessary, for my friend would have fared badly in 

 climbing if I had not shot the old birds before they could attack 

 him. Their threatening cries and loud snapping of their beaks 

 were quite enough to discourage an unarmed robber. 



I wrapped the two young birds in a towel and later placed them 

 side by side in an ordinary canary cage. They were savage, 

 using beaks and claws vigorously. When released in my door- 



