OWLETS 39 



and when he opened them he did so with a serio- 

 comic look of surprise and a " Why do you disturb 

 me? >J air, which remained upon them, till they closed 

 in semi-sleep again. 



The sound made by the horned owl, as by the 

 eagle owl of which he is a miniature and by 

 which each of them is best known, is not a note at 

 all. It does not proceed from the throat, but is 

 occasioned by a smart clicking of the bill, the move- 

 ment of the mandibles being so rapid that it can 

 hardly be seen, even when one is watching it 

 narrowly. More interesting even than the sight of 

 the old bird clinging close to the trunk of the tree, 

 is what may, perchance, happen to you, when, your 

 attention awakened by the number of pellets 

 lying somewhere on the ground, you look up and 

 catch sight of a whole family of half or even fully- 

 fledged young long-eared owls, five or six in number, 

 sitting demurely side by side, as they will do for 

 weeks together, on a single branch, unable or 

 unwilling to fly, and waiting patiently for the parent 

 birds to bring them their food in the gloaming. A 

 gamekeeper has been known to sweep them all 

 away with a single discharge of his gun, and to 

 boast of his achievement, as though he had done 

 something great and good. 



