SCREECH-OWL OR MOTTLED OWL 



JOHN JAMES AUDUBON 



THE notes of this Owl are uttered in a tremulous doleful 

 manner and somewhat resemble the chattering of the 

 teeth of a person under the influence of extreme cold, 

 although much louder. They are heard at a distance of 

 several hundred yards, and by some people are thought to be 

 of ominous import. 



The little fellow is generally found about farmhouses, 

 orchards and gardens. It alights on the roof, the fence or the 

 garden gate, and utters its mournful ditty at intervals for 

 hours at a time, as if it were in a state of great suffering, 

 although this is far from being the case, the song of all birds 

 being an indication of content and happiness. They are 

 chiefly heard during the latter part of winter, just before the 

 nesting season. 



The nest is placed in the bottom of the hollow -trunk 

 of a tree, often not at a greater height than six or seven 

 feet from the ground, at other times as high as from thirty to 

 forty feet. It is composed of a few grasses or feathers. The 

 eggs are four or five, of a nearly globular form, and a pure 

 white color. If not disturbed, this species lays only one set of 

 eggs in a season. 



The young remain in the nest until they are able to fly. 

 At first they are covered with a downy substance of a dull 

 yellowish white. By the middle of August they are fully 

 feathered, although considerable difference in color is found 



71 



