The Great Horned Owl 303 



daring. The same is true of some of our hawks 

 which have been known to fly within a few feet of a 

 man and pounce upon and carry off a chicken. Owls 

 usually make such visits by night, but occasionally 

 during the winter, when food is scarce, they get into 

 the habit of visiting the farmyard in the daytime. 

 Immediately upon the capture of the fowl, the owl 

 retreats to the woods, but, the load being heavy, the 

 bird sometimes stops to rest upon the broad rail of a 

 fence, or upon a log, or even upon the ground. At 

 such times the owl plainly shows its nature by holding 

 to the fowl, even when followed. When such stops 

 are made, with a little careful manoeuvring, the owl 

 may be approached near enough to be photographed. 

 From early experience it was learned that a man on 

 horseback could ride under a tree where there was 

 a crow or a hawk without disturbing the bird; so, 

 too, the great horned owl has its weak point, it may 

 be fascinated by a dog. 



The photographing of the Great Horned Owl under 

 the following conditions is not difficult: wait until 

 the owl seizes the fowl and stops to rest on the return 

 to the woods, then let a dog be led to within twenty 

 or thirty feet of the owl, and the bird will be all atten- 

 tion for the dog, taking apparently no notice of. the 

 person leading it. The behavior of the owl at such 



