Birds of Massachusetts. | 91 
of these unmusical sounds. This bird is probably - 
the saw-whetter, which is heard so often by those 
who visit the White Mountains. Its common cry 
at night resembles the dull sound of a whistle. 
This bird is solitary in its habits, confining itself 
to the evergreen forests by day. When disturbed, it 
flies timidly, and takes advantage of the first shelter 
it reaches, where it may be caught by one who uses 
sufficient caution in his approach. At evening it be- 
comes lively, flying round with wonderful swiftness 
in search of mice, beetles, moths a d grasshoppers. 
It sometimes manifests a desire to see the world. 
Some have been taken in the heart of our cities ; 
in Cincinnati, one was caught on the edge of a cra- 
dle in which a child lay asleep. 
* The Ancric, or Wurre-Hornep Own, Striz arctica, 
is a rare and beautiful bird, of which a single speci- 
men was obtained by Dr. Richardson, in his expedi- 
tion, shot with an arrow, by an Indian boy. Nuttall 
says, that a specimen was once seen, for two or three 
days, in Cambridge, and from descriptions which I 
have received, of a bird resembling the snowy owl, 
with horns, I am persuaded that it will turn out to 
be a more frequent visiter than is now supposed. 
ndn s re Strix aa is a small 
species, and so entirely a bird of night, that when 
seen abroad by day, it is unable to escape, and may 
be caught by the hand. It feeds on mice and 
beetles, and is found in all the forests of the fur 
countries, where: its melancholy note, repeated at 
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