10 



THE OOLOGIST 



It is a resident the year round. Not 

 often seen in winter when the trees 

 are bare of leaves and the ground 

 covered with snow, as it then keeps 

 well hidden in dense hemlocks, but 

 during the summer time I often come 

 upon them. 



They have a liking for cool moun- 

 tain streams in deep shady woods and 

 often flushed from along the water in 

 such places. 



Usually the Barred Owl is not very 

 shy and will allow a person to ap- 

 proach within shotgun range. 



A good many are shot each fall dur- 

 ing the gunning season, but still there 

 seems to be about as many now as 

 fifteen years ago. 



From my experience with this owl 

 when hunting black squirrels, I be- 

 lieve it is a good squirrel hunter, too, 

 and that it is out very often during 

 midday looking for a meal. 



In the March OOLOGIST I related a 

 little adventure with one while squir- 

 rel hunting last fall and several years 

 ago a similar incident happened. A 

 black squirrel was barking, and sneak- 

 ing up I saw him on a big chestnut 

 stub and had just got nicely in range, 

 when a big gray object dashed into 

 the tree. Blacky ducked into a hole 

 none too soon, and the gray thing- 

 alighted on a limb and turned out to 

 be a Barred Owl. My strangest ex- 

 perience with this owl happened a few 

 years since on a warm lazy October 

 day. 



I had crawled out of bed at three- 

 thirty and walked six or eight miles 

 so as to be in the woods at daylight. 

 Along about noon it was so quiet and 

 warm that I got sleepy, so coming to 

 a little sink where I would be out 

 of sight of any fool hunters, I laid 

 down and was soon dozing. Beside 

 me lay my string of squirrels, black 

 and gray, ten in all. 



I don't know how long I slept, but 



suddenly awakening I saw, not ten 

 feet over my head, a Barred Owl flut- 

 tering in the air, no doubt attracted 

 by the squirrels. 



When first I opened my eyes he 

 was so close that he seemed to fill the 

 whole atmosphere and for an instant 

 I thought the old boy himself was 

 after me. I started up and he flew 

 away to a limb, faced about and after 

 rubbing hard he hurried away through 

 the woods. I didn't shoot and I often 

 smile to myself when I think what 

 a scare he gave me when I first open- 

 ed my eyes. 



The Barred Owl hoots very fre- 

 quently during the daytime if it is 

 cloudy or rainy. The hoots are not 

 deep in tone like the Horned and are 

 about eight in number, given in rapid 

 succession and the last one rather 

 long drawn out. At a distance it 

 sounds a great deal like a dog bark 

 ing. They prey usually on squirrels 

 and small rodents, with an occasional 

 rabbit. Never knew of one of them 

 robbing a hen roost like the Horned 

 Owls, although they sometimes do so. 



They nest in natural cavities in 

 large trees. Usually not over thirty 

 or forty feet up, and in hollows or 

 openings that do not go in very deep. 

 Sometimes they nest in the tops of 

 broken off stubs and are exposed to 

 the weather. 



Here they lay two or three eggs, 

 and about March 25th is the right time 

 to look for fresh eggs. 



R. B. Simpson. 



The Great Horned Owl. 

 (Bubo Virginianus.) 

 Early on the morning of March 3rd, 

 my friend Spencer and I started to 

 walk armed with climbers, rope and 

 camera, our object being to visit eight 

 or ten old hawk's nests in hopes of 

 finding Mrs. Bubo at home. 

 As I left the house the thermometer 



