THE MOPING OWL 



birds bring up their young in darkness, 

 whereas the hawks birds of daylight rear 

 theirs in open nests, high up in trees or on 

 rocky ledges, in the full glare of the sun. 

 One owl indeed habitually burrows in the 

 prairies and pampas, in the curious company 

 of marmots and rattlesnakes, and this 

 burrowing habit is also, hi some parts of the 

 United States, adopted by the common 

 barn owl. Owls generally brood from the 

 laying of the first egg, with the obvious 

 result that young birds in various stages of 

 plumage are found together in the nest. 

 It has been suggested that the body of the 

 first to leave the egg helps to keep the un- 

 hatched eggs warm while the parents are 

 away foraging, else its presence would be a 

 serious handicap. The first little owl to hatch 

 out is usually ready to leave the nest soon 

 after the arrival of the last, though these 

 chicks come into the world more helpless 

 even than the majority of birds. 



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