"THE * OOLOGIST> 



VOL. VIII. 



ALBION, N. Y., OCT., 1891. 



No. 10 



The Screech Owl. 



Throughout the temperate regions of 

 North America few species among our 

 nocturnal birds of prey have a wider 

 distribution. Who is there, who has 

 not listened to their plaintive cry, as it 

 alternates from high to low, and is oc- 

 casionaly varied by deep gutteral trills 

 that cause a ghostly desolation to creep 

 over the listner in spite of his efforts to 

 console himself with the assurance that 

 it is only an Owl. Where, too, is the 

 school boy who has not spent many an 

 hour in pursuit of the little fellows as 

 they sail swiftly by on noiseless wings in 

 the dusk of evening; or, who has not 

 climbed tree after tree during the day, 

 to find each time that his bird was just 

 a little beyond his reach. 



When disturbed during the day, they 

 Will very often stare vacantly at the in- 

 truder, and act very much like a child 

 suddenly awakened from a sound sleep, 

 and then drop off their perch backwards 

 as though dead. They are not dead, 

 however, as I have learned by exper- 

 ience, more than once, by having their 

 sharp claws buried in my hand while 

 attempting to pick them up. 



They are fond of low meadows, and 

 old barns where they devour great 

 quantities of the small quadrupeds 

 which infest such places. The immense 

 good which these Owls do in the dis- 

 traction of vermin should command for 

 them the respect of everyone, but not 

 unfrequently the most cruel persecu- 

 tions are the only reward which they 

 receive. Through ignorance and super- 

 stition they are made the scape-goats 

 for 'a multitude of sins committed by 

 some of their larger and less scrupulous 

 brethren. Fortunately there are local- 

 ities where their true worth is recogniz- 

 ed, and where they are held in high es- 



teem- Here they become very unsu- 

 spicious, nesting and roosting in very 

 public places. I once knew a pair to 

 make their nest in a hollow apple-tree, 

 some five or six feet from the ground, 

 which stood in our garden. They would 

 sit quietly in the opening and watch us 

 come within a few feet of them. Some 

 times they would fly away, but would 

 oftener drop back into their nest. 

 They seem to court rather than shun 

 human society. The hole generaly 

 chosen for their home is one which has 

 been previously made by some of the 

 Woodpecker family, but where this 

 does not exist, a decayed stump is 

 chosen. 



The cavity is placed at varying 

 heights, which seem to depend a good 

 deal on the character of the neighbor- 

 hood. In localities near to human hab- 

 itations the nest is seldom placed at a. 

 greater height, and many are placed 

 not more than five or six feet from the 

 ground, while in wooded regions a 

 height of forty feet and upwards is often 

 chosen. The nest is placed in the bot- 

 tom of the cavity, and consists of a few 

 dried leaves and grasses, with an upper 

 lair of feathers. In some instances the 

 material of which the nest is composed 

 is thrown into the hollow in a promis- 

 cuous heap entirely regardless of either 

 order or elegance. The nest being fin- 

 ished, the female deposites her eggs; 

 one a day, until the full number is 

 reached. Incubation begins at once, 

 and continues for fifteen clays. This is 

 claimed to be chiefly the work of the 

 female. When with eggs or young the 

 approach of an enemy is greeted with a 

 hissing noise, and if the hand is put in- 

 to the nest, will very often meet with a 

 sharp reception. 



The characteristic plumages of these 

 birds seem to be purely individual, 



