WAYS OF THE OWL. 195 



fumes of camphor, ammonia, and other disagree- 

 able and unusual smells, but they failed to show 

 that they perceived them unless the fumes were 

 strong enough to affect their breathing or to 

 irritate their eyes. Finally, I put a cat in a bas- 

 ket and placed the basket between the two owls. 

 They were utterly indifferent to it until the cat 

 made the basket rock, when both of them fled 

 precipitately, and could not be induced to go 

 near the basket again. Although Puffy will 

 put a cat to flight when on his mettle, Fluffy is 

 frightened almost out of his wits by them. 



A Japanese toy-bird, made of a piece of wood 

 and a few scarlet feathers, was eagerly seized 

 by Puffy, indicating not only a lack of power 

 of smell, but the presence of an appreciation of 

 color. I have fancied that an appreciation of 

 color is also shown by barred owls in their fre- 

 quent selection of beech trees as nesting-places, 

 by great-horned owls in their choice of brown- 

 trunked trees, and by Snowdon in an apparent 

 preference for gray backgrounds. 



To this real or imaginary ability of the owls 

 to select protective backgrounds is to be joined 

 an undoubted power of assuming protective 

 shapes. My great-horned owl can vary at will 

 from a mass of bristling feathers a yard wide, 

 swaying from side to side as he rocks from one 

 foot to the other, to a slim, sleek, brown post 



