50 Bird Day Book 



YESTERDAY. 



* * * Above the world as evening fell 



I made my heart into a sky, 

 And through a twilight like a shell 



I saw the shining sea-gulls fly. 

 I found between the sea and land 



And lost again, unwrit, unheard, 

 A song that fluttered in my hand 



And vanished like a silver bird. 



— Nora May French. 



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THE GREAT HORNED OWL. 



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THE Great Horned Owl is a splendid bird between eighteen 

 and twenty-five inches in length, with the plumage moderately 

 dark-colored, the dusky markings extensive or more numerous, 

 while the face is usually more or less rusty. It is found through- 

 out eastern North America, ranging south to eastern Mexico. It 

 frequents especially the heavily timbered districts, and so long as 

 these conditions prevail it is a fairly common species, but with the 

 leveling of the forests, the usual accompaniment of civilization, it 

 has become rarer. It is an unsociable and solitary bird, except 

 during breeding season, and rarely allows another of the same 

 species to remain in the vicinity of its range. It is so savage and 

 seemingly so devoid of the confidence usually shown by birds of 

 prey kept in confinement that it is with the greatest difficulty that it 

 can be tamed even when taken young from the nest. Its food is of 

 great variety, consisting of birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, insects, 

 etc. 



The Great Horned Owl is a resident wherever found and is 

 one of the earliest breeders among the birds, the mating season 

 beginning in midwinter while the ground is frozen. Whenever 

 possible a hollow tree is selected for the nesting site, but when this 

 is unavailable the old nest of a Hawk or Crow may be taken, and 

 in exceptional instances, they may construct their own nest, or 

 place the eggs on a. ledge of rock or the ground. 



