248 



sistauce; at anothei- time, when uol iiioie than fifty 

 yards distant, it utters its more usual lioo, hoo, hoo-c, 

 in so peeuliai' an undertone that a person unaecjuainted 

 vvitli the notes of this species niiglit easily conceive 

 them to be prouced by an owl more than a mile distant. 

 During the utterance of all these unmusical cries it 

 moves its body, and more parlicularly its head, in 

 various ways, ])utting them into positions, all of which 

 appear to please it much, however {rrotesaue they may 

 seem to the eye of man. In tlie interval following 

 each cry it snaps its bill." — Audubon. 



These owls, like the preceding species, are not migra- 

 tory and when not engaged in breeding lead a solitary 

 existence. Although chiefly nocturnal in babits, Great 

 Horned Owls are often seen in cloud}'; weather and in 

 the early tAvilight searching for food. On one occa- 

 sion, when the sun was shining brightly (about 10 A. 

 M.), I saw one of these owls make two attempts to 

 catch a hen and her young chicks. 



WHAT THEY LIVE UPON. 



Audubon says: "Its food consists cliiefly of the larger 

 species O'f gallinaceous birds, half-grown wild turkeys, 

 pheasants and domestic poultry of all kinds, together 

 with several species of ducks. Hares, young opossums 

 and squirrels are equally agreeable to it, and whenever 

 chance throws a dead fish on the shore the Great 

 Horned Owl feeds with peculiar avidity on it." 



Nuttall tells us they usually prey on young rabbits, 

 squiiiels, rats, mice, quails and small birds of various 

 kinds; and when these resources fail or diminish, they 

 occasionally ju-owl pretty boldly around the farmyard 

 in quest of chickens, which they seize on the roost. 



■My own records of sixteen examinations of the 

 Gi-eat TforiKMl Owl, which, \\itii one cxccidion. wric ;ill 



