ioo Bird - Lore 



that came to grief from a too liberal supply of butcher's meat without sufficient 

 bone to provide lime. 



Our Owl thrived from the first, and, until he was old enough to go about 

 out-of-doors, he slept at night in a large basket in the house. Since he insisted 

 on being fed at daybreak, I kept him near my bed, and, when he woke me, 

 calling, I would satisfy him. After that he would promptly go to sleep again. 

 Most of his days were spent taking short naps, fixing his feathers, stretching his 

 wings, and trying to fly. 



As he grew, we all obtained considerable amusement from watching his 

 various antics. One interesting performance was to place him on the back of 

 a gentle horse quietly eating grass on the lawn. The Owl would look about 

 and feel very much at home, except that every time " Winnie' ' turned to drive 

 the flies away, he would scold her head with great energy, as if it were a strange 

 animal attacking the one on which he was perched. 



He also furnished no end of entertainment for the hens, who used to form 

 an admiring circle and stare at him. I am sure that what the hens said would 

 have been interesting if we could have known it. Judging from his actions, the 

 amusement obtained on the part of the hens was reciprocated. He would look 

 from hen to hen, continually bobbing his head up and down, always moving 

 his neck from side to side. His head thus moved in a perpendicular line each 

 time, parallel to the line just described. This motion was employed whenever 

 he wished to inspect critically any object at a distance. 



Oui Owl, apparently, could see quite well even in bright sunshine; and, 

 when sitting quietly on the piazza, he would follow, with the motion of his head, 

 some one who might be passing along the road, which was about one hundred 

 yards distant. 



As he grew and learned to fly, he went at large while people were about. 

 At other times we shut him up, because we feared that a stranger might shoot 

 him. He certainly surprised me by his friendliness, gentleness and intelligence, 

 although, it must be confessed, that as regards the latter quality, he never equaled 

 any of my Crows, Bluejays, or Purple Grackles. 



Our Owl, to my knowledge, never caught any birds, or obtained food for 

 himself in any way, but depended exclusively for his living upon us. 



He reached his full growth in about three months, and, from that time on, 

 simply perfected himself in the art of flying. While he lived with us, he made 

 use of only two sounds: one, resembling a hissing noise, he employed when 

 frightened or when he wished to protest; the other, a high-pitched, short whistle, 

 rapidly repeated, he used when he was pleased or hungry, or when he wished 

 to attract attention. 



In the fall, realizing that he might be shot if he were free about the grounds, 

 and yet hating to shut him up, we decided to put him back in the woods where 

 his family had lived. So, early in September, after giving; him a square meal, 

 we released him near the place where he was hatched. He flew to a tree and 



