m 



THE OOLOGIST. 



ed with leaves and sometimes a few feath- 

 ers. About the first of May, the female 

 commences to lay her eggs. These are in- 

 variably three in number, of a pure white 

 color, with a rough shell and about the size 

 of a hen's egg, but more globidar. I have 

 seen hens' eggs that when placed side by 

 side with those of the Barred Owl, are dif- 

 ficult of distinction. One specimen in my 

 collection measures two inches in length by 

 one and three-fourths in width. The young 

 are at first covered with cream-colored down 

 which as may be imagined, gives them a 

 very grotesque appearance. During the 

 day-time the Barred Owl frequently flies 

 about, but he is no sooner seen by a diurn- 

 al bird than numbers of the smaller species 

 set up a chattering and fly about in an ag- 

 itated manner, now and then venturing a 

 blow, and withal annoying him to such an 

 extent that he is compelled to move. But 

 at night he is king of the forest and terrifies 

 his assailants with his greedy pi-owlings. 

 This Owl has the body short and thick ; 

 the head large ; the bill small ; the foot 

 strong and the toes rather long. Its food 

 is mice, small birds and insects, the former 

 of which it destroys in large numbers. 

 This species flies so noislessly that one may 

 pass directly over you without your beins 

 aware of the fact, unless you observe his 

 shadow. Jasper says : " The flight of this 

 Owl is light, smooth and perfectly noiseless, 

 so much so that not the slightest rustling 

 of the wings can be heard, even if it flies 

 only a couple of yards above your head. If 

 the occasion requires it, their flight can 

 be greatly protracted, as they have been no- 

 ticed to fly on one stretch a distance over 

 two miles." This species inhabits mostly 

 deep forests, and swamps thickly covered 

 with timber, where it builds in the most 

 inaccessible places. The collector general- 

 ly has a hard nut to crack when he attempts 

 to collect a set of these eggs, as he has no 

 sooner ascended the tree than he is fiercely 

 assailed by the Owl, and is made the victim 

 of repeated swoops, often bewildering him 

 so that he is compelled to descend. A 

 friend of mine recently kept a pair of these 



Owls in confinement more than a year. 



When wounded or cornered this bird is 

 very dangerous, as it strikes fiercely with 

 its talons. So powerful are these instru- 

 ments that one stroke will prostrate a dog. 

 At these times its eyes appear to be dilated 

 to twice their usual size. The Barred Owl 

 is one of the many of the farmer's enemies. 

 Silently approaching the farm-house, in 

 the night he enters the hen-house, selects a 

 yovmg chicken in preferance to an old one, 

 and carries it oflF to the woods to be devour- 

 ed. The Owl appears to fly more graceful- 

 ly and with an easier motion than most 

 birds of prey. 



Along the rocky shores and in the deep 

 forests of Michigan these birds may be 

 heard, their dismal hootings echoing in the 

 gloom for miles. Often the sportsman will 

 be suddenly aroused from a sound sleep by 

 a foreboding and dismal hooting directly 

 above his head, and seeming to say in sep- 

 idchral tones, " Tu-whoo, tu-whoo. King 

 of the woods am I — tu-whoo, tu-whoo !" 



The Swallow-tailed Hawk. 



[NaucJerHS furc.afHS, Vig.) 



A UDUBON, in his Avritings says of the 

 ■^ ^ distribution of this bird: "A solita- 

 ry individual of this species has once or 

 twice been seen in Pennsylvania. Farther 

 to the eastward the Swallow-tailed Hawk 

 has never, I believe been observed. Trav- 

 elling southward along the Atlantic coast, 

 we find it in Virginia, although in very 

 small numbers. Beyond that state it be- 

 comes more abundant. Near the falls of 

 the Ohio a pair had a nest and reared four 

 young ones in 1820. In the lower parts of 

 Kentucky it begins to become more numer- j 

 ous ; but in the states farther to the south, 1 

 and particularly in parts near the sea, it is 

 abundant. In the large prairies of the At- 

 tacapas and Oppellousas it is extremely 

 common . " They are more common through- 

 out the South Atlantic and Gulf States than 



