248 
OUR HOME BIRDS. 
as to occasion little or no friction with the air — a wise 
provision of Nature bestowed on the whole genus to 
enable them, without giving alarm, to seize their prey 
in the night. For an hour or two in the evening and 
about break of day it flew about with great rapidity. 
When angry it snapped its bill repeatedly with vio- 
lence, and so loud as to be heard in the adjoining 
room, swelling out its eyes to their full dimensions, 
and lowering its head as above described. It swal- 
lowed its food hastily in large mouthfuls, and never 
was observed to drink/ 
“ The barred owl is one of our most common spe- 
cies, and it is especially numerous in winter among 
the woods that border the meadows of the Schuylkill 
and Delaware. It is often seen flying during the day, 
and when the weather is cloudy it is as noisy as dur- 
ing the night. This bird is over sixteen inches long, 
and takes its name from the alternate bands or bars 
of pale and dark brown on its wings ; its upper parts 
are light brown, marked with transverse spots of 
white. The tail also has six broad bars of brown, 
and as many narrow ones of white. 
“ The nest of this bird is sometimes found in the 
crotch of a white oak among thick foliage. It is 
rudely made, outwardly of sticks mixed with dry 
grass and leaves, and lined with smaller twigs. The 
young, when curled up in one of these rough nests, 
