38 BIRDS OF LA PLATA 



is, without doubt, due to the active animosity of 

 the pampas tribes, who have all the ancient wide- 

 spread superstitions regarding the Owl. '^ Sister of 

 the Evil Spirit " is one of their names for it ; they 

 hunt it to death whenever they can, and when travel- 

 ling will not stop to rest or encamp on a spot where 

 an Owl has been spied. Where the country is settled 

 by Europeans the bird has dropped its wary habits 

 and become extremely tame. They are tenacious 

 of the spot they live in, and are not easily driven out 

 by cultivation. When the fields are ploughed up 

 they make their kennels on their borders, or at the 

 roadsides, and sit all day perched on the posts of 

 the fences. 



Occasionally they are seen preying by day, especi- 

 ally when anything passes near them, offering the 

 chance of an easy capture. I have often amused 

 myself by throwing bits of hard clay near one as it 

 sat beside its kennel ; for the bird will immediately 

 give chase, only discovering its mistake when the 

 object is firmly clutched in its talons. When there 

 are young to be fed, they are almost as active by day 

 as by night. On hot November days multitudes of 

 a large species of Scarabxus appear, and the bulky 

 bodies and noisy bungling flight of these beetles 

 invite the Owls to pursuit, and on every side they 

 are seen pursuing and striking down the beetles, 

 and tumbling upon them in the grass. Owls have a 

 peculiar manner of taking their prey ; they grapple 

 it so tightly in their talons that they totter and 

 strive to steady themselves by throwing out their 



