UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 323 



fcers by his forest fire, " Making night hideous." He preys on Rab- 

 bits, Squirrels, Rats, Mice, Partridges, Small Birds and Chickens. The 

 nest oi this species is generally placed in the fork of a tall tree, some- 

 times in the holiow of a tree. Eggs four in number, of a pure white. 

 The Great-horned Owl is not migratory. 



Red Owl. This is another of our nocturnal wanderers, well known 

 by its common name, the Little Screech Owl; and noted for its melan- 

 choly, quivering kind of wailing in the evenings, particularly towards 

 the latter part of summer and autumn, near the farm house. They 

 roost during the day in thick evergreens, such as the Pine, Cedar &c, 

 and sometimes will take up their abode in a vacant pigeon house, or 

 martin box, and occupy the same situation for several successive sea- 

 sons. They construct their nest in the hollow of a tree, and lay four, 

 pure white eggs. 



Great American Shrike or Butcher-bird. The character of this bird 

 is entitled to no common degree of respect. His activity is visible in 

 all his motions; his courage and intrepidity beyond every other bird 

 of his size, the King-bird excepted ; and in affection for his young 

 he is surpassed by no other. He attacks the largest Hawk or Eagle 

 with a resolution truly astonishing; so that all of them respect him; 

 and on every occasion decline the contest. As the snows of winter 

 approach, he descends from the mountainous forests, and from the 

 regions of the north, to the more cultivated parts of the country, 

 hovering about the hedge-rows, orchards and meadows, and disap- 

 pears again early in April. It breeds in the interior; the female lays 

 six eggs, and produces her young in June. This species preys occa- 

 sionally on small birds, which he sticks on thorns that he may tear 

 them to pieces with greater ease ; but his common food, in the sum- 

 mer, appears to be grasshoppers. The habit of the Shrike, of seizing 

 and impaling grasshoppers and other insects on thorns, has given rise 

 to an opinion, that he places their carcasses there by way of baits, 

 to allure small birds to them, while he himself lies in ambush to 

 surprise and destroy them. This is a mistake. 



Carolina Parrot or Parakeet. Of one hundred and sixty-eight kinds 

 of Parrots enumerated by European writers as inhabiting the various 

 regions of the globe, this is the only species found native within the 

 territory of the United States. They are not often found to the east- 

 ward of the Allegany ridge ; but are numerous on the Great and Lit- 

 tle Miami, and at Big-bone Lick, thirty miles above the mouth of 

 Kentucky river. In the fall, when their favourite cockle burrs are 

 ripe, they swarm along the high grounds of the Mississippi, above 

 New Orleans, for a great extent. They fly very much like the Wild 

 Pigeon, in close compact bodies, and with great rapidity, making a 

 loud and outrageous screaming, not unlike that of the Red-headed 

 Woodpecker. Their flight is sometimes in a direct line; but most 

 usually circuitous, making a great variety of elegant and easy serpen- 

 tine meanders, as if for pleasure. They are particularly attached to 

 the large sycamores, in the hollow of the trunks and branches of which 

 they generally roost, thirty or forty, and sometimes more, entering at 

 the same hole. Here they cling close to the sides of the tree, hold- 

 ing fast by the claws, and also by the bills. They appear to be fond 

 of sleep, and often retire to their holes during the day, probably to 

 take their regular siesta. They regularly visit the salines or salt- 

 licks, to drink the salt water, of which they, as well as the Wild 

 Pigeons, are remarkably fond. The food of this species is ripe fruits, 



