1SS4.I (iciivral Notes. IQC 



dl" my pet fhaiig'cd ii/s/a/i/ir. 'I'lic liofiis were lliiovvii b;u;k llat against 

 the crown, the e_\'es niared fierceU', and tlie stately l)irci of wisdom, and 

 the humorous vendor of quaint sounds. <4ave place to the savage bird ol" 

 pre_\'. As she stood for a moment glaring down upon her victim, moving 

 her head from side to side, as if calculating the distance and the best 

 method of attack, she looked like a veritable fiend. Her first swoop was 

 dodged by the cock, and she then made an attack on the ground. Ap- 

 proaching the now terrified bully of the barn-jard, quick as a flash one 

 claw was thrust out, clutching his neck; throwing him over on his back 

 she quietl_\' held him there until all motion had ceased, which was much 

 sooner than if his head had been chopped olT. 



Nothing in the shape of fresh fish or flesh is neglected b_>- the Owl 

 when liungrA', though her choice is for wild birds, and she will take small 

 animals in preference to beef or mutton. A rat or squirrel is always 

 swallowed whole, and about every second or third day the fur and bones 

 are ejected, rolled into a hard pellet as large as a Grouse's egg. Just before 

 ejecting these pellets the bird's appearance is very distres.sing. The first 

 time I observed it I thought she must be ill, but as soon as the pellet is 

 out she immediately recovers. If any food remains after her hunger is 

 satisfied, it is carefully hidden away, and if I approach the spot where it 

 has beeii laid the Owl attacks me most fiercely; flying at my feet, and hit- 

 ting at them with her wings and claws. 



She is very fond of bathing, and during the warm weather will bathe reg- 

 ularly once a day; getting into the large basin I have provided and wash- 

 ing veiy much after the manner of a Canary. In winter she takes a 

 bath about every three or four days. 



I liave proven that her hearing is remarkably acute, and that she can 

 see distinctly' in the day time, when out of the glare of the sun. 



The 'hoot' is made with the bill firmly closed; the air is forced into the 

 mouth and upper part of the throat, the latter being puffed out to the size 

 of a large orange. — ^^[ames W. Banks, Sf. John, A^. B. 



Ducks transporting Fresh-water Clams. — In a conversation with Mr. J. 

 W. Freese of Cambridge in relation to birds transporting bodies in their 

 claws, my attention was called to an interesting observation made by Mr. 

 Eugene Barry of Lynn. As the observation seems an important one. touch- 

 ing a possible cause of the distribution of these mollusks, I have asked Mr. 

 Barry, through the kindness of Mr. Freese, to write out his experience, 

 and from the letter which he has kindly sent in reply the following ab- 

 stract is inade. 



While gunning on the Sebec River, Maine, he noticed among a flock of 

 Ducks on the wing, one bird which flew more heavily than the others. 

 This he shot, and on picking it up found a common 'fresh-water clam 

 attached to the penultimate joint of the 'middle toe.' He cut off the leg 

 with the clam adhering to it, and noticed that the articulation to which the 

 mollusk had fastened itself was chafed as if the clam had clung to it for 

 sometime. After a day or more the leg of the Duck and the clam, w'hich 

 had not yet released its hold, were put into a basin of water, when the 



