Vf)L. I. 



BOSTON, JANUARY, 18S6. 



No. 9. 



Ko:- the Young Ornithologist. 



THE (iREAT HORNED OWL. 



Baho ]'i.rgin!aii.us. 

 One of the largest and most common of 

 our nocturnal birds of prey is the Great 

 Horned Owl, or as it is often called, the 

 "cat owl." In the winter the dismal hoot 

 of this lonel}' bird is a familiar sound, to 

 those who live in the country, as it echoes 

 from forest to forest and is echoed back 

 again by its dusky mate. 



During the summer of 1885 I kept a fine 

 specimen of this species is confinement 

 nearly three months, during which time I 

 had ample means for studying its habits ; 

 but it grew so vicious and ugly that I was 

 at length forced to kill it. Although ap- 

 pearing so clumsy and awkward, its quick- 

 ness was remarkable. I have often thrown 

 living rats into his apartment, but he 

 would pounce upon them before they could 

 get out of the way and dispatch them with 

 one pinch of his powerful mandibles. 



Adult birds of this species are from 

 twenty to twenty-five inches in length, and 

 the prevailing colors are cinnamon-brown 

 and black, but the plumage is so various 

 in diflferent specimens that it is difificult to 

 describe them ; some of them exhibit con- 

 siderable white. 



The most conspicuous objects are the 

 ear-tufts, or "horns" which, when erect, 

 are from one and a half to two and a half 

 inches in length. The huge, blazing eyes, 

 with their bright yellow iris, and expand- 

 ing pupils, are worthy of no little atten- 

 tion. 



In the latter part of February or early 

 in March they build their nests in a cavity 

 in the trunk or limb of a tree, or in a de- 

 serted hawk's nest, and deposit from two 

 to four spherical eggs, of a dirty, white 

 color. 



Its occasional attacks on the poultry 

 yard makes it the enemy of the farmer, as 

 it carries off not only young chickens but 

 full grown turkeys and geese. 



Fred S. Odle, 



Lapeer, Mich. 



THE GOLDEN-CROWNED THRUSH. 



iSiurus A tiricapilluK. 

 This species receives its name from the 

 orange-yellow plumage that adorns the 

 crown of its head ; it is also known as 

 the oven bird, from the peculiar manner in 

 which the nest is formed. Its length is 

 between six and seven inches, and the 

 plumage on the upper parts of the body 

 and wings are olive-green, with a tinge of 

 yellowish-brown. The head has a black 

 strip on each side of the crown ; the low- 

 er parts of the body are white, the breast 

 and sides being spotted with black. It 

 is a summer resident of the Canadian 

 wild-woods, scarcely ever seen out of the 

 deep shades of the primeval forest. Nor 

 does it return in spring to its native haunts 

 until the trees are putting forth their em- 

 erald garb, and summer is once more about 

 to assume its reign over our fields and 

 woodlands : then perched at a considera- 

 ble elevation among the concealing foliage 

 it greets the wanderer in the wilderness. 



