Ma y, 1922 FROM FIELD AND STUDY 22) 
final effort the Ouzel appeared stunned and dazed and too full to move. His inactivity, 
however, was very brief and he soon plunged into the turbulent river. His strange 
maneuvers with the fish might remind one of the antics of the Kingfisher when at- 
tempting to reduce his catch to an edible state—Cuas. W. MicHarL, Yosemite, Califor- 
nia, January 31, 1922. 
Turkey Vulture Wintering at Chico, Butte County, California——On December 28, 
1921, while riding through the Phelan Ranch near Chico, California, I saw a Turkey 
Vulture (Cathartes aura septentrionalis) circling overhead. On expressing my surprise 
at seeing the bird so far north at that time of year my companion, who is an old resi- 
dent there, informed me that they wintered there “quite commonly”. Later in the day 
another was seen in the same locality. Two days later, December 30, I saw two of the 
birds along the highway between Chico and Gridley, which seems to substantiate my 
companion’s remark.—F RANK N. Bassett, Alameda, California, February 18, 1922. 
Behavior of a Barn Owl in Captivity—On February 13, 1922, some boys captured 
alive a Barn Owl (Aluco pratincola), in the top of the high school building in Benicia. 
After passing through several different hands it was finally presented to me on the 
evening of the same day, and I promptly made from a box a good-sized cage for it with 
the intention of learning a little about the bird’s habits. 
As usual with owls this bird’s activity was much restricted during the day. Espe- 
cially on sunny days, or at night when brought into a room where there was an electric 
light, the bird became very drowsy and to all appearances was fast asleep. It would 
either stand listlessly or lie forward on its breast, as when incubating, with eyes closed 
and in a position to avoid the most light. Should someone approach the cage during 
the day after the bird had been left alone for some time, it. would always arouse itself 
sufficiently to attempt to avoid capture, but, not succeeding, would soon settle down 
and doze off again and become indifferent to any amount of commotion. In. fact, 16 
could be taken from its cage, laid on its back, feet upwards, and in this position would 
remain motionless, its eyes closed, wings folded and claws drawn tightly together. 
Towards evening and at night, and sometimes on cloudy days, it became more lively 
and would attempt to escape from its cage, several times succeeding. Then he had the 
larger liberty of the laundry, where his cage was kept; an open window covered by a 
wire screen kept him from getting out of doors. In the laundry he perched on one of 
the shelves or on a clothes-line, or else flew back and forth between the perches or 
towards the window, where he clutched the wire screen with his claws, held on awhile, 
and then flew back to a perch. When recapturing him I found it advisable to keen my 
hands away from his claws, as I at first got several bad scratches. If he succeeded in 
getting a good hold of my hand it was difficult to extract it, as he did not seem satisfied 
to puncture the flesh by only one tight grasp, but would loosen and tighten his grip 
intermittently, thus making various wounds. He never bit me, though he held his man- 
dibles open when I was recapturing him as though threatening to seize my fingers. 
One evening I brought the cage into the kitchen and placed it on the floor to 
observe the bird’s actions. He was quiet and indifferent until a house cat came in 
through the back door. This immediately occasioned a display of vigorous activity on 
the part of the owl. As soon as he spied the cat he began snapping his bill, and let forth 
a series of long, shrill screams of some five seconds duration, with an intermission be- 
tween each of about the same length. This was kept up for about half an hour, or 
until the cat left the room. During all this‘time, backed into one corner of the box, he 
kept his wings raised high above his head, his whole body swaying slowly from side to 
side, and eyes open to their full extent, following the cat as it moved about the room. 
Much to my disappointment J had difficulty in feeding him. I placed sparrows, 
raw beef, liver and mice in his cage but he would not voluntarily eat any of these. I 
succeeded in forcing two house mice into his throat, the bones and fur of which he 
later expelled in pellets. He accepted a little raw beef which was also forcibly fed to 
him; liver he would not retain but promptly expelled it. His attitude towards food was 
one of indifference; he made no effort to avoid being fed and no effort to feed himself. 
A sparrow which I skinned and fed to him he kept down, but several others freshly killed 
and placed in his box he did not touch. I thought he would soon begin to eat of his own 
