THE 0\VL KIN 7 D. 121 



order to be successful ; for if it is put off' till 

 later, those birds which but a few minutes sooner 

 came to provoke their enemy, will then fly from 

 him with as much terror as they just before show- 

 ed insolence. 



It is not unpleasant to see one stupid bird 

 made in some sort a decoy to deceive another. 

 The great homed owl is sometimes made use of 

 for this purpose to lure the kite, when falconers 

 desire to catch him for the purposes of training 

 the falcon. Upon this occasion they clap the 

 tail of a fox to the great owl, to render his figure 

 extraordinary ; in which trim he sails slowly along, 

 flying low, which is his usual manner. The kite, 

 either curious to observe this odd kind of animal, 

 or perhaps inquisitive to see whether it may not 

 be proper for food, flies after, and comes nearer 

 and nearer. In this manner he continues to hover, 

 and sometimes to descend, till the falconer setting 

 a strong-winged hawk against him, seizes him for 

 the purpose of training his young ones at home. 



The usual place where the great horned owl 

 breeds is in the cavern of a rock, the hollow of a 

 tree, or the turret of some ruined castle. Its nest 

 is near three feet in diameter, and composed of 

 sticks, bound together by the fibrous roots of trees, 

 and lined with leaves on the inside. It lays about 

 three eggs, which are larger than those of a hen, 

 and of a colour somewhat resembling the bird it- 

 self. The young ones are very voracious, and 

 the parents not less expert at satisfying the call 

 of hunger. The lesser owl of this kind never 

 makes a nest for itself, but always takes up with 



