3i6 The Screech Owl 



it might be the sight of Billy that was causing this 

 uneasiness among the birds. Sure enough, in a snug 

 retreat formed by some branches sat Billy, with his 

 eyelids slightly open, trying to discover what all this 

 fuss was about. I returned him to his home, and 

 for the next two weeks he was to be found there nearly 

 every day, Betty, however, was the more regular of 

 the two. The owls never seemed to be hungry, but 

 this I accounted for by the fact that in the next yard 

 there were several evergreens, where English spar- 

 rows roosted and nested in considerable numbers. 



Vacation time came and passed, and when I re- 

 turned, Billy was not in, but Betty was at home and 

 had grown both in stature and in beauty during my 

 absence. It seemed to me that the sparrows had 

 greatly diminished in number, much to my joy. In 

 a few days Billy returned, and he too had grown to 

 be a beauty. 



During the autumn and early winter they were to 

 be found the greater part of the time in their snug 

 house in the cherry tree, but occasionally one or 

 both would be absent for two or three days at a time. 

 It is now the first of February 1905, and the little owls 

 are still "at home." I hope that they are rightly 

 named, "Billy'' and "Betty," and that when spring 

 arrives they will decide to nest in their present abode. 



