16 



Bulletin of the Michigan Ornithological Club. 



must have suffered a great deal of pain, 

 he did not seem to be wasted at all, but 

 was in good condition. I have had quite 

 a number of specimens that had been eat- 

 ing skunk (Mephitis mephitica), and from 

 my experience I should judge that it is a 

 common food of this owl. The last one I 

 stuffed had in its stomach, part of an 

 American Herring Gull, Larus argentatus 

 smithsonianus. It was collected on Peche 

 Island, Lake Erie, last December. 



I well remember once being outwitted 

 by a Great Horned Owl, while living in 

 Uniontown, Penn. It was in March, 

 1871, a friend and I were out collecting, 

 but as there was a high wind and it was 

 very cold, we had poor success. We were 

 on our way home and were going through 

 a piece of woods when our dog, which was 

 running ahead of us, stopped and began 

 smelling around what looked like a bundle 

 of dirtv cotton-batton, about the size of 

 one's fist. I ran up and was surprised to 

 see a young owl a few days old — a bunch 

 of grayish yellow down with two great 

 yellow eyes, and two sets of very formida- 

 ble looking claws sticking out ready to 

 seize any object that came near. How- 

 ever, as the poor, wee owlet was almost 

 perished with the cold, I took it up and 

 placed it inside my vest, and then began 

 looking around for the nest. . I soon dis- 

 covered the ear-tufts and great yellow 

 eyes of the mother, watching my every 

 movement from between two limbs of a 

 tree near by, and raising my gun I fired, 

 but instead of Mrs. Bubo falling down, she 

 flew up. And after chasing her for half 

 an hour, I gave her up. We went back 

 to the nest and both saw and heard at least 

 one other owlet, but as the wind was high 

 and climbing dangerous, we decided to 

 wait till Monday — this was on Saturday — 

 and come out and get the contents of the 

 nest and the old bird, if we could. On 

 Monday, bright and early, we were at the 

 nest and approached it very cautiously, so 

 as to get a good shot at the old bird. At 

 last I got within range and seeing Mrs. 

 Bubo, as I supposed, I fired. Not a 

 feather moved. I well remember the 

 thrill of delight I felt as I dropped my 

 gun and started to climb. It was one of 

 the hardest climbs I ever had, bat there 

 at the other end was a Great Horned Owl 

 and her babies, and were they not worth 

 the exertion and the danger? So up I 



went and you can imagine how I felt when 

 I looked into an empty nest. Mrs. Bubo 

 knew her babies were in danger and had 

 conveyed them to a place of safety, and 

 we were outwitted by an owl. 

 Windsor, Ontario. 



Mr. Gottlieb Bessmer of Hastings, was in Grand 

 Rapids, May 19. 



Messrs. Miles, Selous, Walker, and Barrows of the 

 Club, read papers before the Michigan Academy of 

 Science at Ann Arbor. 



Mr. L. Whitney Watkins of Manchester, has been 

 appointed a Deputy State Warden, by State Game 

 and Fish Warden Osborn. 



Miss Frances Margaret Fox, the author of the 

 popular bird stories for children, has joined the M. 

 O. C. , and will aid us, in her graceful writings, to 

 create and cultivate, among the thoughtless people 

 of Michigan, a sentiment for the encouragement and 

 protection of our birds. 



"The Cooper Ornithological Club of California, 

 sends greeting to the Michigan Club and wishes it 

 every success. C. BARLOW, Secretary. ' ' 



Mr. E. Van Winkle of Vanz Harbor, Mich., is 

 located temporarily (next 3 months) at Peoria, 111. 



Mr. B. H. Swales, who has been ill at his home in 

 Detroit for several weeks, has returned once more to 

 the University of Michigan. 



Prof. A. J. Cook writes from California : "I have 

 just received a Condor measuring 9-4." 



Mr. J. E. Dickinson, Rockford, 111., secretary of 

 the Wilson Ornithological Chapter of the A. A., has 

 joined our Club. He is making a special study of 

 the Mniotiltidse, and any who have notes upon 

 species of this family of warblers should tender him 

 their aid. 



The Editor-in-chief called upon Messrs. Friedrich, 

 Primrose, and Mills, of the Club, at Brooklyn, 

 Tecumseh and Adrian, during the latter part of 

 March. 



Profs. Walter B. Barrows, Dean C. Worcester and 

 Mr. L. Whitney Watkins, were appointed a com- 

 mittee of the Michigan Academy of Science, to look 

 after means for the protection of the song birds in 

 Michigan. 



Mr. Elmer W. Durfee has returned West. He 

 went to Arizona this time and took with him a good 

 gun and a copy of Coues' "Key." During his stay 

 in New Mexico, he was handicapped by not having 

 a good reference book and a gun, but now that he 

 has them, we may expect some good results from 

 his work. 



Mr. W. E. Snyder of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, 

 expects to spend a couple of months collecting in 

 Southern Illinois. 



Mr. Lynn B. Gilmore, Blooming Valley, Penn., 

 spends the summer in the oil fields of either Penn- 

 sylvania or New York. Wherever he is, he will 

 keep an eye on the birds. 



