22 



SONG OF THE OWL-BLUE-BIRD. 



constructed, being composed outwardly of sticks, interspersed with 

 dry grass and dry leaves, and lined with small twigs, fibrous 

 roots, and a few feathers. The food of these birds consists chiefly 

 of mice, moles, frogs, lizards, snakes, and sometimes fish. The 

 young birds have been often taken from the nest and placed in a 

 room with the window open, and, in all such instances, the young 

 ones have been found by their parents the very first night, although 

 the distance of the room was, in one case, over two miles from the 

 nest. The parent birds brought plenty of food to their young, so 

 that almost every morning, a great many frogs, mice, etc., had to 

 be thrown out. Only once, in all these experiments, did the old 

 birds bring a partridge ; but this, on close inspection, was found to 

 be in a far-advanced state of decay. The previous night had been 

 very dark and stormy, perhaps the old birds had not been able to 

 catch any live prey, and had brought the dead partridge to serve as 

 food for their young in case of extreme need. 



The young are, for some time after birth, covered with a fine 

 white down, which gives them a peculiar, but not an uninteresting 

 appearance. Their call or cry is a singular hissing sound, which 

 can be heard at a great distance. These birds, like most other 

 Owls, are clothed with feathers of very different shape and texture. 

 Those surrounding the bill are similar to bristles ; those around the 

 region of the eyes are unwebbed and extremely open, and are 

 bounded by a set proceeding from the external edge of the ear, small 

 and velvety, consisting of exquisitely fine fibers, almost invisible to 

 the naked eye. The outward plumage of these birds has one gen- 

 eral character at the surface, calculated to repel rain and moisture ; 

 but toward the roots of the feathers, it is composed of a very soft, 

 loose, and downy substance, so that we may touch without feeling 

 it. The webs of the wing-quills are also of a delicate softness, 

 covered with exceedingly fine hair, and edged with a fine, loose, 

 silky down. All this enables the Owl to pass through the air with- 

 out disturbing, in the slightest degree, the most profound stillness. 

 The long bristly feathers around the bill and the eyes serve to 

 guard the latter from injury, when the Owl sweeps rapidly through 

 a thicket, as on the slightest touch at the point of any of these 

 bristles, the nictitating membrane is instantly drawn over the eye. 



There is often a remarkable difference in size between the male 

 and female, and between the birds generally of this species. The 

 usual length of the female is about twenty-two inches, though I 

 have shot one that measured twenty-eight inches. The usual aver- 

 age of the male is seventeen inches, by thirty-eight inches in cir- 

 cumference. The Owl represented on our plate is a female in 

 full plumage. 



SONG OF THE OWL. 



BY MRS. HEWITT. 



Tu-whit ! tu-whoo ! — in my ancient hall, 



In my old gray turret high, 

 Where the moss is thick on the crumbling wall, 



A king — a king reign 1 1 

 Tu-whoo ! 

 I wake the wood with my startling call 



To the frighted passer-by. 



The ivy-vines in the chink that grow, 



Come clambering up to me ; 

 And the newt, the bat, and the toad, I trow, 



A right merry band are we. 

 Tu-whoo I 

 Oh, the coffined monks in their cells below, 



Have no goodlier company. 



Let them joy in their brilliant sunlit skies, 



And their sunset hues, who may ; 

 But softer by far than the tints they prize, 



Is the dense of the twilight gray. 

 Tu-whoo ! 

 Oh 1 a weary thing to an owlet's eyes 



Is the garish blare of day. 



When the sweet dew sleeps in the midnight cool, 



Some tall tree-top I win ; 

 And the toad leaps up on her throne-shaped stool, 



A.nd our revels loud begin — 

 Tu-whoo ! 

 While the bull-frog croaks o'er his stagnant pool 



Or plunges sportive in. 



As the last lone ray from the hamlet fades 



In the dark and still profound, 

 The night-bird sings in the cloister shades, 



And the glow-worm lights the ground — 

 Tu-whoo ! 

 And fairies trip o'er the broad green glades, 



To the fire-fly circling round. 



Tu-whit ! tu-whoo ! all the livelong night, 



A right gladsome life lead we ; 

 While the starry ones from their azure height, 



Look down approvingly. 

 Tu-whoo ! 

 They may bask who will in the noonday light, 



But the midnight dark for me. 



PLATE XXIII. 

 The Blue-bird. (Siatia sialis.) 



The gentle and sociable disposition and the peculiarly pleas- 

 ing manners of this beautiful little bird entitle it to particular 

 attention. Being one of the first messengers of spring, it brings 

 the glad tidings of the approach of warm weather to our very 

 thresholds. As everybody, old or young, has been expect- 

 ing this pleasing visitor, he is met everywhere with a most 

 hearty welcome. His gentle, quiet song is extremely soft and 

 agreeable. It consists of an oft-repeated warble, uttered with open 

 quivering wing, and very pleasing. In his manners and general 

 bearing he always reminds me of the House Red Start of Eu- 

 rope, to which in his motions and general character he bears a 

 very strong resemblance. Like that bird he is quiet and confiding, 

 and of a very peaceable disposition, never quarreling or fighting 

 with other birds. His presence is not only desired, but generally 

 courted in rural districts ; few farmers, or their boys, failing to pro- 

 vide, in some suitable place, a nice snug little house ready fitted up 

 for him. In his turn he repays the good farmer tenfold for his kind- 

 ness, by his cheerful song, and by daily destroying a multitude of 

 insects, that might otherwise ruin the farmer's whole fruit crop. 

 The song of the Blue-bird changes in the month of October to a 

 single plaintive note, which is most noticed when he flies over the 

 yellow and reddish colored woods, this melancholy air reminding 

 us of nature's gradual decay. Even after the trees are completely 

 bare of leaves, he seems to dislike leaving his native fields, 

 but lingers around until the heavier frosts. Want of food finally 

 compels him to leave. This happens about the latter part of No- 

 vember, when only a few or no Blue-birds are to be seen ; but they 

 reappear, at least in this part of the country, on every return of 

 open and mild weather, so that we hear their plaintive notes in the 

 fields, or in the air over our heads ; and they seem never totally 

 to forsake us, but merely to follow fair weather in their wanderings 

 until the return of spring. Even in the midst of winter, when the 

 whole earth is covered with deep snow, small groups of Blue-birds 

 are frequently met with conducting themselves as usual, seemingly 

 unconcerned about the inclement weather. 



The Blue-bird is generally regarded as a bird of passage ; but 

 if the weather is at all favorable, he reappears as early as the 

 middle of February, fluttering about his wonted haunts, the barn, 

 the house-top, the orchard, or the fence-posts. Deep snow-falls, oi 

 stormy weather, drive him away again, but only for a short time, 



