BIRD LEGEND AND LIFE 



the red thrush call out with Richard III, "Out on ye, owls!" 

 and quickly drive her into cover — if she is sufficiently awake 

 to make her escape. A cry of alarm from any one of these 

 birds assembles an attacking army in an incredibly short 

 time. If unable to escape, their victim lies flat on her back 

 and, while protected in the rear by the ground, turns to the 

 enemy an armed front of claws and beak. The jay, who 

 regards her at all times as an especial enemy, selects the eye 

 of the owl as a particularly vulnerable point and does his 

 best to reach it. 



The long-eared owl, another common form, is strictly 

 nocturnal in her habits, though the short-eared, which is 

 equally common, frequently goes mousing on cloudy days. 

 The former, possessing little architectural ability, often takes 

 for her home the lofty deserted nest of a hawk, crow or 

 squirrel, while the latter, the least owl-like of all the owls, 

 makes her home on the ground on a high spot in a grassy 

 marsh. 



The barred, or hoot owl, which in the United States is 

 by far the most common of the larger owls, is especially 

 marked by the absence of horns and by its dark eyes. Its 

 call, "whoo-whoo-whoo-who-whoo," with variations and ab- 

 breviations, Mr. Frank Chapman likens to deep-voiced, 

 mirthless laughter. He has heard two of these birds in con- 

 certed performances, one uttering about ten rapid hoots, 

 while the other, in a slightly higher tone, hooted half as fast, 

 both performers ending together with a "whoo-ah." In Iowa 

 their weird shrieks are often heard during the early sum- 

 mer, but more often in the fall. 



The largest and finest of all the owls is the great homed 

 owl — ^the most majestic of her kind — ^who measures full 



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