/ The fire draws upward with a steady flame, brightening 
as the night grows darker and the stars come out one by 
one. It shines on the tree leaves overhead and moves 
them to a gentle fluttering by the current of hot air 
which it sends up; it lifts the shadows of the surround- 
ing woods and sometimes lights the wings of a bat cir- 
cling near. At times an Acadian owl may pass softly 
through the lighted space, or sit iu' fhe gloom just out- 
side, making known its presence by one of its several 
noises. The best known note is the'saw- whetting, from 
which it gets its name of saw-whet owl; this closely 
resembles the sound of filing an “up-and down” mill saw, 
set in a frame. It also makes a whining noise, and the 
soft conversational co-eo-co, co-co-co already mentioned. 
Besides these, I am told of a note resembling the tinkling 
of small bells and of a harsh, nasal ah-ah. Indeed, I have 
myself heard at night in the woods a sharp, harsh noise 
—which I was told was made by the saw-whet — that re- j 
sembled this as much as anything, but the heaviness of 
sleep interfered with scientific accuracy, and in my jour- i 
nal I find merely the comment: “Not knowing the other j 
noises I did not remember this.” This bird undoubtedly 
breeds in the woods north of Katahdin, hut in the lati- 
tude of Bang«r I have never seen one earlier than Oct. 
19 nor later than March 21. Between these dates they are 
not rare, being most frequently found in barns and out- 
houses, where they go for warmth and mice, What they 
sat whtn in the wood? I do not know, never flaying seen 
/!#***? 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
1 one which did not appear half starved, nor having found 
the feathers of any small bird or any sign of their caten- 
ing bird, mouse or shrew; but I have known four ot therm 
to be picked up dead, apparently from starvation. / 
Early Occurrence of the Saw-whet Owl.— Believing that I have one 
of the earliest records of the Saw-whet Owl ( Cryptoglaux a. acadica) for 
Long Island, I should like to record' it. 
On October 26, 1911, I was told that a young owl was killed on one 
of the streets of Elmhurst, Long Island. I looked it up and found it was 
a Saw-whet Owl. I secured it and it is now in the collection of the Ameri- 
can Museum of Natural History — How arth S. Boyle. 
13 % 
II t 
