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, in 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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