856 UPLAND AND MEADOW. 



gnn with him, and so approach on the part of a bird is 

 comparatively safe. A crow would reason in this man- 

 ner, I know, and the evidence favors a like intelligence 

 on the part of other birds. 



Shortly after sunset a cat-owl screamed from some 

 distant shelter in the meadows, and the pleasant sound, 

 borne by the wind and toned with the sighs of the tall 

 pines, added a charm to the evening. To me it has 

 ever been a matter of wonder that the cries of owls 

 should be thought mournful. In a little poem by 

 Alexander Wilson, called " The Foresters," the author 

 speaks of 



" The hollow, quivering, loud-repeated howl, 

 Full overhead, betrays the haggard owl." 



To what haggard owl he refers I am uncertain, but 

 probably this long-eared one, that, from the varied notes 

 of its cry, is locally known as "cat-owl." Formerly it 

 was more abundant than now, and its place in the mead- 

 ows is taken by the short-cared or marsh owls. The 

 voices of the two are quite different, and by this means 

 the birds are as readily distinguished as when seen. 

 The marsh-owls, as found in the meadows, offer one pe- 

 culiarity not noticed by ornithologists as occurring else- 

 where. They build in cavernous hollows of old trees, 

 and not on the ground. Either this, or the young, as 

 soon as they are hatched, leave the nest and take shelter 

 in such hollows. I can readily understand why this 

 should be the case. They frequent only the wet marshes, 

 where there is an abundance of mice and of reed-birds 

 at certain seasons. These are their sole food-supply, 



