186 FROM BLOMIDON TO SMOKY. 



hours, and on another occasion a cooper's hawk 

 placed before him at night had only one leg and 

 a few feathers remaining in the morning. Like 

 other owls, he ejects hair and bone pellets from 

 his mouth. 



The great-horned owl is not so ready to be fed. 

 He prefers to eat while alone. Mice, however, 

 are too attractive to be refused, and whenever 

 held before him are slowly and quietly taken 

 and swallowed. Other food he usually pretends 

 not to see until I have left him. He seems 

 ready to eat anything that the other owls like. 

 I know that he has bathed at least once this 

 winter, and, judging by his plumage, he uses 

 water freely. When given a cod's head or a 

 large bird, he stands upon it and tears off mor- 

 sels much as Snowdon does. His motions in 

 doing this are sudden and his whole expression 

 fierce and tiger-like. With horns slightly flat- 

 tened and eyes glaring, he first plucks a piece 

 of flesh from the carcass and then turns his head 

 sharply from side to side to see whether any 

 other owl dares to intrude upon his repast. My 

 barred, snowy, and great-horned owls all feed 

 freely in the daytime. My screech owls, on the 

 contrary, usually waited until dark before de- 

 vouring their food. One of them apparently 

 ignored a live English sparrow for several hours 

 while daylight lasted and the sparrow was able 



