60

1916

(Screech Owl) a period seemed truly remarkable; yet I have had
had similar experience in former years with Screech Owl breeding
in the same neighborhood (see notes for June 1901 & 1904, especially).
  Farmer neighbors and bird loving friends from various distances
came to view the male Owl while he was frequenting the old barn
and were much impressed by his statuesque poses and by the
subdued beauty of his soft gray plumage. He was seen to best
advantage when sitting in one or the other of the apertures just under
the gable roof, freely exposed to to outer daylight, yet backed by murky
shadows within the buildings, and showing every detail of form, color
and marking with admirable distinctness. Thus envisioned he would
not infrequently suggest a realistic painting of such a bird, set in
a heart-shaped frame of weathered wood, or perhaps a wall-mounted
specimen similarly displayed. At first he would compress his body
plumage to the utmost and bring his eyelids together in such a way as
to reduce the spaces between them to narrow, vertical slits, whenever he
was conscious of close human observation but it soon ceased to give
him any obvious concern or to deter him from gazing long and
abstractedly, through wide opened eyes, out into brilliant sunshine,
however many people might be moving about and talking on the
ground beneath. His feathered ear tufts invariably stood erect, with
their tips scarce an inch apart. We thought them longer, narrower and
more acutely pointed than those of most Screech Owls and wondered
how they could be kept in such immaculate order - each with
gently-tapering outlines exactly matching those of the others and never
anywhere a misplaced or rumpled feather. Very admirable, too,
were their delicately penciled markings. That they served not
merely to adorn the bird but also added immeasurably to
his general interest and impressiveness, was unmistakeable [unmistakable].