338 LAND-BIRDS AND GAME-BIRDS 



asleep it awakes instantly on its name being pronounced, and 

 will answer as quickly as when awake. I have heard it utter 

 its peculiar quavering note on one or two occasions, which, 

 notwithstanding its reputed mournful ness, has much that 

 sounds pleasant to my ears. When moving along a plane sur- 

 face, Scops progresses, with a half walk, half hop, which is 

 certainly not the most graceful gait possible. 



" When out at night among the trees Scops acts in much 

 the same manner as when in the house, hopping from limb to 

 limb, looking about with a quick, graceful motion of the head, 

 sometimes turning the head around so that the face comes di- 

 rectly behind. 



"When it returns to the house in the morning, daylight is 

 often long passed, and even sunrise. The alarm note is a kind 

 of low moan ; this was often uttered at the sight of a tamed 

 gray squirrel (but with which it has now become better ac- 

 quainted), and alwa3 r s at the sight of its old enem} r , the dog. 



u While flying, Scops moves through the air with a quick, 

 stead}' motion, alighting on any object without missing a foot- 

 hold. I never heard it utter a note when thus moving. When 

 perching, it does not grasp with its claws, but holds them at 

 some distance from the wood, clasping with the soles of the 

 toes. When it has eaten enough of a bird, it hides the re- 

 maining portions in any convenient place near by. * * ' 



"Sometimes in the daytime it will take a sudden start, flit- 

 ting about the room like a spectre, alighting on different ob- 

 jects to peer about, which it does by moving sideways, turning 

 the head in various directions, and going through many curious 

 movements ; but it always returns to its perch and settles 

 down quietty. 1 



" I once placed a stuffed owl of its own species near it, 

 when it ruffled its feathers, gave a series of hisses, moans, and 

 snappings of the beak, and stretched out one wing at full 

 length in front of its head as a shield to repulse what it took 

 to be a stranger invading its own domains. As the stuffed 

 bird was pushed nearer, Scops budged not an inch, but looked 

 fiercer than ever; its .ruffled back- feathers were erected high, 

 its eyes sparkled, and its whole attitude was one of war. 



