THE SCREECH OWL 113 



crows to see if we can find in what trees they 

 build their nests, and how they get the sticks, etc., 

 to the trees. 



How do you know that the crows are about when 

 you cannot see them ? (They flap their wings 

 noisily and cry " Caw ! caw ! ") 



Abbott says that crows have twenty-seven distinct 

 cries, each of which is accompanied by a different 

 act. [It would be interesting for teacher and pupils 

 to observe closely and see if they notice any connec- 

 tion between the movements of the crows and their 

 different notes.] 



XV 



THE SCREECH OWL 

 (A Winter Study) 

 What birds have been with us all winter ? Some 

 of these birds are more often heard than seen ; which 

 are these ? (The owls.) Why do we see them so 

 seldom ? Have you ever heard them ? What sound 

 did they make ? (Some cry " Hoo ! hoo ! " others 

 make a sound variously likened to "the coo of a 

 dove with the sweetness left out," " the whining of a 

 puppy," "the grating of machinery," "the wailing 

 of a little child.") 



