2 
NOTES ON BIRDS IN CONFINEMENT , 
Nyctea nyctea. 
to mere slits as with Scops and Asio . They were gentle, 
although somewhat solemn in expression. The bird winked at in- 
tervals of about half a minute. The plumage was never com- 
pressed so as to give the body the appearance of stick or 
stump as is the case with some of the smaller Owls. 
Not infrequently , especially when hungry, my Owl be- 
came alert and animated, turning its head from side to side 
and "cocking" it up or down, each motion being as quick and 
decided as that of a Grow. One evening Mr. Bodies brought 
his pair of Barred Owls and placed them on a box just out- 
side the wall of wire netting that encloses the corner where 
the Snowy Owl is confined. On seeing his visitor), which he 
did quickly enough, my bird at once swelled to nearly double 
his usual size, puffing out his plumage until he lost def- 
inite shape and proportions and resembled nothing so much as 
a mound of mottled whi te-and-black feathers, for several 
minutes he stood motionless, making no further hostile dem- 
onstration of any kind; then, by degrees he resumed his nor- 
mal appearance, nor was the puffing out of the plumage re- 
peated although we afterwards htook him out of his pen and 
allowed the Barred Owls to approach him closely. They were 
shy of him at first and probably would not have gone very 
near him at all had we not driven all three birds about the 
cellar, when more than once, by mere accident, probably, one 
of the Barred Owls alighted within a foot or two of the Snowy. 
The latter now appeared to regard them with friendly indif- 
ference, a feeling which they reciprocated to some degree, 
although they were evidently a little afraid of, and to some 
extend curious about their big white cousin. The latter 
flew around the cellar (which was dimly lighted by a candle) 
very freely, avoiding with evident care all obstacles such 
as beams, the tops of boxes, barrels, etc. He moved his 
wings with powerful, rather rapid beats and did not sail at 
all. On alighting he struck his perch with precision and 
with much force, making a loud thump . A few flights ex- 
hausted him to such a degree that he panted incessantly for 
minutes at a time, with mouth wide open, his breath showing 
plaining in the frosty air. A little more exertion of this 
kind fairly prostrated him. His wings hung down and he 
gasped painfully, the sound of his labored breathing being 
audible forty feet away. We feared at first that he was dy- 
ing and it was ten minutes or more before he fully recovered. 
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