WAYS OF THE OWL. 



SINCE June, 1888, I have had in my posses- 

 sion for longer or shorter periods eleven live 

 owls, including snowy, great-horned, long-eared, 

 barred, and screech owls. I have also had oppor- 

 tunities of watching Acadian and screech owls 

 in a wild state. In June, 1888, I secured two 

 young barred owls from a hollow beech-tree in a 

 White Mountain forest. I have them still after 

 three and a half years of happy companionship. 

 During the first summer they were pets not easily 

 petted. They used beak and claws fiercely and 

 resented familiarity. I kept them in a large 

 slatted cage in my barn, where they had plenty 

 of air and light. They bathed freely and fre- 

 quently. They ate largely of animal food. 

 They were awake by day, restless at twilight, 

 but profoundly quiet by night. They could see 

 perfectly in bright sunlight, and better at night 

 than most creatures. In the autumn I took them 

 to Cambridge, where they were given a large 

 cage in my cellar. During the winter I handled 

 them more and more freely, beginning by using 

 stout leather gloves, but soon stroking and rub- 



