IQ/L General Notes. [April 



In this connection I might record taking Cowbird's eggs frequently 

 from nests of the Indigo Bunting, and that invariably the Buntings have 

 deserted their nest after these eggs were removed. — John A. Mokden, 

 Hyde Park, Ontario. 



The Great Horned Owl {Bubo virginianits) in Confinement. — There has 

 been considerable written upon this subject, and yet my present pet has 

 displayed several characteristics which I have not observed mentioned in 

 any of the records I have access to, and which are rather interesting. 



I took her (I am stronglj' impressed with the belief that the bird is a 

 female) from the nest on May 21, 1SS2, and judged from the plumage that she 

 was then some twenty days old. She and her nest mate were covered 

 with a grayish down, and when I pushed them over the edge of the nest 

 — a i-ough shapeless affair on the exterior, though comfortably lined with 

 feathers, and built in the crotch of a birch tree some eighty feet from the 

 ground — they made an awkward attempt at flying, but reached the ground 

 all right. They snapped their bills as I picked them up, but allowed them- 

 selves to be carried oft' without making further remonstrance. 



The parents did not interfere, though just before I climbed the tree 

 one of them flew on to the edge of the nest and uttered a sharp and shrill 

 cry, with a vibration similar to that produced by a 'pea' whistle (the same 

 cry as my pet gives voice to when annoyed or angry), and then flew off. 

 The nest, by the way, was in a rather odd situation, being on the outskirts 

 of a heronry of the Great Blue Heron, and not a hundred feet from where 

 a pair of Fish Hawks were putting in habitable condition a nest which 

 appeared to have been used for many years. 



I have given my pet the run of a large room, and had ample opportuni- 

 ty to watch her growth and habits. At four months the horns, or ear- 

 tufts, began to be noticeable, and in six months the bird was in full feather. 

 In April, 1883, when about a year old, she made two attempts at nest-build- 

 ing, but finally relinquished the idea and shortlj- after began to shed her 

 feathers. 



From my experience with this bird I cannot fairly say that I consider 

 the species untameable, though I confess I have not made much headway 

 inVeducing her to submission ; yet she will allow me to stroke her head, and 

 makes very little fuss when I enter her apartment alone, in comparison 

 to what she does when a stranger approaches her. But she is undoubtedly 

 fierce, and thoroughly appreciating the value of her equipment of muscle 

 and claw, and considering any infringement of vested rights a casus 

 belli, soon teaches a meddlesome intruder that no liberties whatever will 

 be tolerated. 



At times she is morose and sullen, but not unfrequently assumes a more 

 playful air, when she seemingly enjoys putting herself into grotesque atti- 

 tudes, varied with hooting, and another sound which so closely 

 resembles the creaking of the door-hinge of her apartment that I am 

 inclined to believe she has imitated it. Once, while in such a mood, I 

 introduced a full grown cock into the room, when lo ! the whole demeanor 



