THE BIRD OF NIGHT 



buildings. But the only other common owl is the little 

 Screech Owl. Were it not for its tremendous cries, 

 resembling the trilling of the tree toad, which are often 

 heard even in towns or small cities, one might well 

 suppose that the bird is very scarce indeed. The Great 

 Horned and Barred Owls do not mind the broad day- 

 light, but our little friend Screecher prefers to hide in a 

 hollow tree, or even a building until the dusk of even- 

 ing. If discovered by day, it appears dazed and torpid, 

 and generally refuses to come out of its hole, unless 

 dragged by force. I have often found it in winter by 

 examining the ground or snow under woodpeckers' 

 holes, or in hollow limbs, in orchards or woods. When 

 I find rounded masses of bones and hair, called pellets, 

 the indigestible remains of its food which the owl 

 throws up, I climb to the hole above, put in my hand, 

 and pull out the owl, which usually is too sleepy to 

 make much resistance. 



One day in early autumn I took a walk out into the 

 country. At the edge of some woods I noticed an old 

 apple tree with a hollow trunk and a hole about as high 

 up as my head. I thought it a good place for a Screech 

 Owl, and so I went and looked in. Something was in 

 there sure enough, for I could see two round shining 

 orbs. After my eyes became used to the darkness I 

 could see that they were the eyes of a Screech Owl, so 

 I put in my hand and found I could just reach it. It 

 did not struggle or bite as I pulled it out, and I put it in 

 my pocket and rode home with it on my bicycle, to 



