STRIX 



RED OWL. 

 [Plate XLIL- Fig. 1, Female.] 



Little Owl, CATESB. i, 7. LATH, i, 123. LINN.%S. 132. Jlrct. 

 Zool. n, 7Vo. 117. TURT. Syst* i, p. 166. PEAI.E'S Museum, 

 No. 428. 



THIS is another of our nocturnal wanderers, well known by 

 its common name, the Little Screech Owl; and noted for its 

 melancholy quivering kind of wailing in the evenings, particu- 

 larly towards the latter part of summer and autumn, near the 

 farm-house. On clear moonlight nights, they answer each other 

 from various parts of the fields or orchard; roost during the 

 day in thick evergreens, such as cedar, pine, or juniper trees, 

 and are rarely seen abroad in sunshine. In May they construct 

 their nest in the hollow of a tree, often in the orchard, in an 

 old apple-tree; the nest is composed of some hay and a few 

 feathers; the eggs are four, pure white and nearly round. The 

 young are at first covered with a whitish down. 



The bird represented in the plate, I kept for several weeks 

 in the room beside me. It was caught in a barn, where it had 

 taken up its lodging, probably for the greater convenience of 

 mousing; and being unhurt, I had an opportunity of remarking 

 its manners. At first it struck itself so forcibly against the win- 

 dow, as frequently to deprive it, seemingly, of all sensation 

 for several minutes; this was done so repeatedly, that I began 

 to fear that either the glass, or the Owl's skull, must give way. 

 In a few days, however, it either began to comprehend some- 

 thing of the matter, or to take disgust at the glass, for it never 

 repeated its attempts; and soon became quite tame and familiar. 



* This is the young bird. 



