They were selected from a number of sets found in various parts of the State. The middle e°*g is more 

 oval than usual, the others while ordinary in shape show the variations in size. 



Throughout Ohio this species is plentiful, seeming to delight in the gloomy woods along the river 

 banks and in the numerous well wooded districts with which the State abounds, but its occurrence is bv 

 no means limited to such localities. It is frequently seen about the trees and barns of the country 

 houses, and it also makes its residence in the smaller towns, where at certain seasons it annoys the restless 

 sleeper with its weird and tremulous notes. For a number of years a pair of these birds have lived in a 

 large oak-tree, which is standing within twenty feet of a dwelling, in a town of six thousand inhabitants. 

 They have always been treated well, and consequently are quite tame, often perching within a few feet 

 of the folks of the house. 



In the late summer and fall this otherwise well behaved Owl often catches the unlucky cage-bird 

 that happens to be left out after dark. It will alight upon the cage and frighten its occupant until, in 

 its endeaver to escape, the little captive flutters into the clutches of the Owl, when it is summarily dragged 

 between the wires, leaving the gilded prison with scarcely a feather to indicate the terrible trao-edv of the 

 night. Many poor canaries, roosting without the reach of the prowling cat, have thus lost their lives to 

 the wonder and grief of their owners. 



As soon as the young become feathered the old birds conduct them from the nest to some suitable limb 

 and there they sit during the day, seldom moving unless disturbed. I have often run across broods of 

 them perched upon some low limb, and occasionally I have taken one or more home and made pets of 

 them. Although timid and stubborn by nature they soon learn to know the hand that feeds them, and 

 soon abandon the habit of ruffling their feathers and snapping their bills except at strangers. They 

 possess the same variations in plumage as do adults, ranging from a very decided red through all shades 

 of gray and brown, and even young from the same nest I have seen having these various colors. 



The food of the Screech Owl is varied, consisting principally of small birds, mice and insects, of the 

 last they eat large quantities, nor do they despise a frog or fish. They are essentially a home bird, seldom 

 going far from their abode and remaining in the same place many years, as proven by the pair alluded 

 to above, which has dwelt so long in the oak-tree. 



Many writers state this Owl can see but little in the day time, an assertion entirely devoid of any 

 facts to support it. Their eyes are unquestionably intended to see with by night, but it does not follow 

 from this that they are blind or nearly so during daylight. Any one who will take the trouble to 

 investigate the matter will learn that the vision of this owl on the brightest day is fully equal to that of a 

 man. 



The notes of the Screech Owl are of considerable variety. Mr. Maynard says, writing of this species, 

 page 282, " Birds of North America:" " The alarm note is, as related, a kind of croak but is quite 

 melodious and is given high or low, depending upon the proximity of the object which frightens the 

 bird. . . . "Another of Scopsie's* notes, or rather a series of them, indicates anger or dislike, for when 

 a stranger approaches his box, especially if he be sitting outside of it, he will raise his ear tufts, wink his 

 eyes slowly, at the same time uttering a rattling, guttural sound. This is merely indicative of antipathy, 

 for when handled by any one whom he does not fancy, he will give the same sound, much louder and in 

 a higher key, frequently ending in a kind of scream. " . . . 



Besides these sounds this Owl possesses a love song, consisting of a few simple notes of varying loudness, 

 uttered sometimes slowly, sometimes rapidly, and upon the whole not unpleasing to the ear. 



*Scopsie was Mr. Maynard's pet Owl. 



280 



