CROSS-CUT VIEWS OF WINTER. 247 



wood another year ? What persons in the South 

 have heard or seen them ? As you look into these 

 deserted homes you have a curious longing to 

 know the complete history of the little feathered 

 lives. 



In these days the owls, perhaps, fly a little far- 

 ther north. One that has been wounded and left 

 to its fate by some rambling huntsman, I find to 

 be the short-eared species, a kind partly migratory 

 and less common in New England than many 

 others. 



How queer is this family of birds with faces, 

 and oftentimes with ear-tufts, like many of the 

 mammals ! The colors of fulvous and brown har- 

 monize well with the hue of dead leaves and dark 

 brown branches among which they sit motionless 

 during the winter days, dreaming of midnight 

 suppers. 



It is interesting to note the soft, lax plumage 

 which Nature has given this specimen, that it 

 might glide silently through the air, and stealthily 

 approach the unwary night-prowling mice which 

 probably have been its only prey during the season. 

 These, evidently, it has not found in abundance, 

 for its body is almost as light as the feathers that 

 cover it. It is also curious to compare the wings 



