WAYS OF THE OWL. 183 



snowy owl. His warning is sometimes beak- 

 snapping, but oftener an open-mouthed, hissing 

 " ah," which has a most menacing quality. He 

 occasionally utters a shrill, whistling scream 

 expressive of pain or the fear of pain, yet he 

 makes it also when snatching a morsel of food 

 held toward him. Thus far I have heard my 

 great-horned owl make but four sounds : terrific 

 beak-snapping ; ah-ing quite equal to Snow- 

 don's ; a hooting which suggests wind sighing in 

 a hollow tree, and taking the form of " whoo, 

 hoo-hoo-hoo, whooo, whooo " ; and a series of 

 soft, musical notes, rolled from his throat when 

 Snowdon comes too near his clutched breakfast. 

 My barred owls eat raw butcher's meat, mice 

 and squirrels, bats, any kind of bird, hawk and 

 crow included, fresh fish, lake mussels, snakes, 

 turtle-meat, some species of frog, earthworms, 

 some kinds of insects, and hen's or bird's eggs. 

 They will not touch toads or the frogs which se- 

 crete an offensive scent. They rarely eat tainted 

 meat or stale fish. Once they played for hours 

 with a dead weasel, much as a cat plays with a 

 mouse, but they did not eat any part of it. They 

 catch living fish from a tank, and kill mice, squir- 

 rels, birds, frogs, and snakes ; but they were at 

 first greatly alarmed by a turtle, and a young 

 hare running around their cage frightened them 

 almost into fits. Puffy will face and put to flight 



