Scops Asio
MASS. (Middlesex Co.) [Middlesex County, Massachusetts]
1875.
Nov. 24 [November 24, 1875]  Clear and still. In the house all day
working on my birds. [delete]Aft[/delete] Finishing up
a half hour or so before sunset, I
took my gun and walked up to
the pine swamp to try for an owl.
Had about given it up and was
striking for the road when I suddenly
spied a little red Scops within ten yards
of me. He was sitting on a maple sapling
over a ditch and undoubtedly on
the look out for mice. I had got
so near him before seeing him that I
was obliged to back off before shooting.
Upon dissection I found his stomach
entirely empty with the exception
of a few feathers. His body was fairly
cased in a very watery kind of
fat which emitted a strong and rather
disagreeable odor.
  Thanksgiving
November 25 [November 25, 1875] Clear still and one of the most lovely days
of the year. Ther. [Thermometer] 24 [degrees] at sunrise. Spent
the forenoon rifle shooting in the sand
bank behind Wm. Blacks [William Black's] when 15 of
us contested for the ownership of two
prizes. The first of them was won by
R. Deane [Ruthven Deane] by a score of 19 out of a possible
25. Second by J.B. Russell, score 16.
My score was 15. After dinner Charlie
and I drove up to Cotton's where
we put up the horse and commenced
our beat. For a long time saw nothing
until finally Shot found a grouse
in a maple swamp and held his