THE BIRD OF NIGHT 



pouncing. He expected that the owl would alight on 

 this stake in the trap, and sure enough, at daybreak the 

 next morning, the guilty owl was hanging ignobly from 

 the pole, caught by one foot. A charge of shot put an 

 end to its thieving career. But this is the exception, 

 and most owls deserve better treatment. It would not 

 be fair to hate all boys because one boy was mischievous, 

 would it, Ned.'' 



The Screech Owl lays four or five eggs, which are 

 white, like all other owl's eggs, about the middle of 

 April, at the bottom of a cavity in a tree. It likes an 

 old orchard very well, but is just as likely to locate in 

 the woods. Seldom is there any sign of occupancy 

 about the hole, and the owl will not show herself, how- 

 ever much one may pound the tree. The nest may be 

 right by one's home, but it is hard to find. The only 

 way I know is to keep looking in likely holes, especially 

 in a neighborhood where the owls are heard at night. 

 I have found several nests, but only because I looked in 

 several thousand holes. The brooding owl is as tame 

 as a sitting hen, and, like them, some will peck and 

 some will not, when you pull them off their eggs. The 

 young are queer little fellows, at first coVered with 

 whitish down, which changes to a soft gray plumage. 

 Later, when fully feathered, it may be either red or 

 gray in general hue, and we do not know any satis- 

 factory reason for this variation, any more than why 

 some people have brown hair and others red. 



There is another little owl, even smaller than the 



72 



