The Avifauna. 



43 



when awake if he was suddenly' alarmed. 



While striking our tent and making pre- 

 parations for the daj-'s journej^ he seemed 

 undisturbed and when all was read}^ he was 

 placed on the seat between us, where he 

 stood intently watching for hawks or buz- 

 zards. Upon his detecting one, no matter 

 how far away, a mere speck in the sky, he 

 would utter quickly a short, shrill cry and 

 hide himself under the folds of our clothing. 



When we halted for our noon lunch be- 

 side the highway, he would at once fly 

 down and take a bath in the thickest dust 

 he could find, sending it up in a cloud by 

 the quick movements of his wings, like a 

 chicken. After thoroughly shaking him- 

 self he would be read}- for his meal. He 

 never failed to inform us when he was in 

 want of food, b}' a peculiar note which was 

 readih- understood. 



When in camp, as twilight approached, 

 , he was peculiarly active, flying about in 

 search of game, which, with the exception 

 of grasshoppers, beetles and moths, he 

 rarely found. These flights were often pro- 

 longed to the time when honest campers- 

 and civilized owls should be in bed, and 

 , gave us so much anxiety that we decided to 

 clip one of his wings. Thereafter his 

 wanderings were perforce made on foot and 

 with less rapidity. 



When the evenings were quite cool we 

 heated the tent with a kerosene stove. Toot 

 soon discovered the source of warmth and 

 with much gusto and apparent delight he 

 would place himself before the stove and 

 with outstretched wings remain by the half 

 hour. 



Of course so novel a sight as an uncaged 

 owl for a camp pet attracted the neighbor- 

 ing boys, but should they approach too 



ar, Toot made a vigorous dive at their 

 bare feet, which sent them scampering, and 

 this was repeated as long as they were too 

 familiar. My wife insisted that he was 

 ■jealous of any child that she took up on her 

 lap. He certainl}' would fly at the object 



of his aversion with snapping beak. 



He would not brook the intrusion of dogs 

 or cats near the camp and they manifested 

 much fear from the formidable bristling ap- 

 pearance he assumed, for they almost in- 

 var iabU' ran away. 



Sometimes, when pressed too closely, he 

 would utter a crackling cry and retire to 

 his roll, but soon appearing again sitting at 

 the entrance with his large eyes wide open 

 and fixed upon the intruder, following every 

 motion. If our horse, while grazing, ap- 

 proached Toot's domain too closely, the 

 size of the animal did not save him from a 

 vicious attack by the bird. Other birds 

 were greatly annoyed when they discovered 

 Toot sitting on his stool at the front of the 

 tent or on a near fence. 



Blackbirds, Jays, Thrushes, Ground 

 Robins and Sparrows all manifested their 

 uneasiness at his presence by their scolding 

 notes. The Swallows would swoop down 

 near him in their graceful flights, as is their 

 wont when a cat is discovered, but it seemed 

 more in play than having a desire to do 

 him harm. 



Not so with the Shrikes, however, for 

 these assassins made more violent demonstra- 

 tions, but Toot only seemed startled by 

 them and never left his perch, although 

 they nearly knocked him off. When any 

 bird came unpleasantly near he would squat 

 as low as possible, recovering his natural 

 position immediately. 



When our camp was near a colony of 

 ground squirrels Toot would at once take 

 possession of one of the mounds of earth 

 thrown out at the entrance of their burrows, 

 sitting there throughout the day and oc- 

 casionalh^ descending into the ground and 

 peeping from the hole. 



Upon reaching San Francisco and Oak- 

 land, while leaving our bohemian life for a 

 short period and sojourning in the dwellings 

 of friends, Toot seemed to take kindly to 

 the more civilized conditions, but he oc- 

 casionally strayed and gave us much concern 



