86 
TI1K CONDOR 
| Vo I,. VIII 
rafters and gritted my teeth till I could wedge in my thumb and pry the 
claws loose. 
The young owls were hardly old enough to fly, but they could raise their 
wings and run like a cat for the darkest corner. ' We had never tried the camera 
on such a ferocious lot of birds. They knew the art of self-defence like a profess- 
HALF-GROWN BARN OWL[lN FIGHTING ATTITUDE 
ioual prize fighter. Approach one and he was on his guard. He would turn on 
his back in an inkling and throw up his claws. “Come on, I’m ready,” he seemed 
to say; and we kept our distance. The oldest one had a villainous temper; he 
was as much opposed to having his picture taken as a superstitious Indian. Gen- 
erally he sat with his chin 
resting on his chest like a 
broken-down lawyer. Once 
when the photographer was 
least expecting it, he dropped 
on his trouser’s leg as lightly 
as a feather, but with the 
strength and tenacity of a 
mad bull pup. The claws 
sank thru to bed rock 
and before they could be 
pried loose, they had drawn 
blood in three places. 
It is well known to scien- 
tists that all birds of prey 
swallow a great deal of indi- 
gestible matter such as the 
fur and the bones of animals 
and the feathers of birds. 
After the nutritious portions 
have been absorbed, the rest 
of the mass is formed into 
pellets in the stomach and 
ADULT BARN OWL LEAVING NEST: TAKEN ON EXPOSURE OF ONE yOlllited Up before A neW SUp- 
ONE-THOUSANDTH PART OF A SECOND „ , 
Copyright photo by II. T. Bohlman and Wm. L. Finley ot t<)0 ^ 1S ^aten. By the 
