OWL LIFE 



twentyrtwo inches and who has the wildest, most piercing 

 shriek. 



The smallest, most lovable and least shy of this inter- 

 esting family is the Acadian or saw-whet, so called from his 

 cry, which is supposed to resemble the soimd made in sharp- 

 ening a large saw. This little feUow is attractive in every 

 way: in dress — cinnamon brown streaked with white; in 

 manner — ^most friendly, and, late in the season, in voice, for 

 then his saw-whet tones have softened into a gentle moan. 

 This queer sound that he makes is said to be his amatory note, 

 and, while as an expression of affection it is not exactly in 

 line with our ideals, it ought to be as effective a love song 

 as the rolling tattoo of the woodpecker. 



Owls, who are said to mate for a lifetime, and who are 

 believed never to prove unfaithful to their choice, come to 

 us with the earliest promises of springtime — ^when all nature 

 is silent except for the brealdng up of the coverings on her 

 ice-locked streams and the creaking moan of bare boughs 

 tossed about by the winds. Immediately they seek a home 

 in some hollow tree, or in a deserted hawk's, crow's or squir- 

 rel's nest. The great homed owl, the first of the family to 

 pay heed to vernal promises, seeks her nest as early as the 

 latter part of February, and is followed by the barred owl 

 early in March and the screech owl and the long-eared early 

 in April. The eggs of all are pure white with a dull, rough 

 surface, and the owlets which come from them, fluffy balls 

 like powder-puffs. 



While the young are in the nest, the parent birds are 

 most devoted. When the red thrush is singing her even-song, 

 and when swallows are darting about in pursuit of the belated 

 insects of the day or those called out by evening damps, the 

 waning light brings back sight to the sleep-glazed eye of 



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