64 WOLF'S WILD ANIMALS. 



the latter is a welcome sharer of the abode, and it may be imagined that at times 

 it makes a meal of one or other of the occupants of the burrow. These little 

 Ground Owls are frequently seen sitting at the mouths of their dwellings, into 

 which, however, they disappear with astonishing rapidity at the first note of alarm. 

 Colonies of the three creatures here named, so unsuitable and antagonistic to each 

 other, are frequently met with on the prairies of the western world. 



In Southern lands the echoes of the night are often aroused by the gutteral 

 notes of this nocturnal wanderer. As the sun declines below the horizon, from 

 his place in the hollow of some tree where he has been sleeping away the day, 

 the Owl begins to open wide his great eyes, and to bestir himself preparatory to 

 the evening's campaign. After a few quick snaps of his mandibles, to prove to 

 himself that they are in good working order, and a few lazy shakes of his plumage, 

 the bird, apparently still only half-awake, comes forth to the entrance of his home. 

 Many are the queer contortions he makes, as he stretches his neck about and peers 

 around on every side, as though, like some near-sighted person, he stood in need 

 of his eye-glasses ; while occasionally he places his bill in the centre of his back, 

 at the . apparent imminent risk of dislocating his neck, and takes a good look 

 into the burrow he has just quitted. As the night comes on, and the darkness 

 deepens, - he becomes more lively, and as if disliking the silence of the grand old 

 woods, shrieks forth an unearthly cry, or a few deep notes, as if undergoing 

 strangulation, and. then stares around him, evidently highly satisfied with what he 

 considers a very musical and meritorious performance. 



And now the moon has risen, tipping the waving leaves, and pencilling the 

 rugged trunks of the forest trees with many a silver line, while the stars crowd 

 :in myriads the tropical sky, and twinkle like diamonds in its clear vault. All 

 nature is hushed to repose, and no sound disturbs the silence that reigns around, 

 save the quiet rustling of the lofty branches, as they move gently to the breeze. 

 This is the moment which our friend considers propitious to sally forth, and, after 

 a few feints at starting, and a few elevations of his pinions, he quietly glides 

 away. Noiselessly he sails among the trees, mindful of every object beneath him, 

 ■his wonderfully constructed eyes, that cannot bear the light of day, permitting him 

 -to see, as through a telescope, into the darkness of the forest- He swiftly threads 

 the leafy lanes, avoiding, as if by magic, the innumerable twigs and branches- that 

 intersect his flight, and is watchful at the same time for anything that may serve 



