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“ I first heard the Laughing-Owl on a very dark, damp night ; and I frequently afterwards found 
its castings before I was able to discover the bird. After repeated searches I was at length fortunate 
enough to capture a very handsome one. He had secreted himself in a deep fissure in the rocks, 
from which I dislodged him by burning some tussock grass at the entrance — in fact I smoked him 
out. I think I was never so pleased at capturing any bird. I brought it home and put it in 
a comfortable cage, where its demeanour was very quiet. It was in beautiful plumage, with 
the facial disk grey, shading off to white on the outer edges. I remarked that the eyes were con- 
spicuously large, and the iris bright hazel. From the blunted condition of its claws it was evidently 
a fully matured bird, and to all appearances a male. During the first night of his incarceration he 
remained perfectly quiet, and refused to take any food. On the following night he moved restlessly 
about his cage, and once in the evening uttered a loud hailing call, as if wishing to communicate 
with an absent mate. By this time hunger had overcome his scruples, and before morning he had 
devoured two live mice which I placed in his cage, besides several pieces of mutton. After a few 
days’ confinement he appeared to become more reconciled to the restraint, ceased to run about when 
approached with food, and indulged in a loud calling note when waking up in the evening. On one 
occasion I placed four live mice in the cage, and cautiously watched the result. After intently 
looking at the mice for a time, the Owl seized one of them, and, after bruising its head, tore it from 
the body, and swallowed it, and then devoured the other parts, tearing them to pieces before swallow- 
ing. After a pause of a few minutes he repeated the same operation on another mouse ; but, 
although quick in despatching its prey, it is not so active as the nimble little Morepork. The latter 
species, instead of tearing a mouse to pieces, will reduce its head to a soft state and then swallow the 
animal whole. I tried my captive with some large lizards, which he immediately began to consume. 
I then offered him some beetles. After a long pause he commenced to eat them, with a quick snap 
of the bill. It was interesting to observe the rapidity with which he caught and swallowed them in 
succession, the elytra flying from the bird’s mandibles like sparks from a blacksmith’s forge. Eleven 
days afterwards I picked up in the cage a hard pellet composed of mouse-hair and the wings and legs 
of beetles: the rejectum of this savoury feast. On a subsequent occasion I gave the Owl three live 
mice : he treated two of them in the manner described above, and swallowed the other whole. I 
tried my bird with a live rat, but he failed to kill it after many attempts. I then despatched the 
rat and cut it up into small pieces, which the Owl readily devoured. At the end of a fortnight he 
had become quite tame, would watch all my movements very attentively, and with every appearance 
of confidence. 
“On the 19th April I was lucky enough to capture two more birds. These were together, 
in one fissure of the rock, and were undoubtedly male and female. I had considerable trouble in 
dislodging them from their hiding-place. When I caught the female bird (the smaller of the two) 
she uttered a peevish twitter, and bit my hands severely. I placed them in a roomy cage, with a good 
supply of beetles and lizards. On the following morning I found that they had consumed all the 
food, and that they had already settled down to their new quarters in a spirit of contentment. I then 
gave them some pieces of mutton, two live mice, and a lizard, all of which they disposed of during 
the night. 
“ I placed all three Owls together, and although for a few days they appeared to agree very well, 
they afterwards commenced fighting ; so I removed my first captive to a separate house, and left the 
pair together. The latter seemed perfectly happy in each other’s company, and on waking up every 
evening, both of them joined in the peculiar hailing-call already mentioned. 
“ On the 26th July I made a fresh excursion among the rocks, in the evening, in the hope of 
seeing this Owl in its native haunts, but without success. Later in the night I heard the laughing 
call from several birds simultaneously. They evidently fly a considerable distance from the rocks, as 
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