minute. They had now acquired a soft gray 
coat of feathers. The remaining three were 
placed on a limb of a tree one morning for exer-” 
cise, and the smaller and weaker one of them, 
who had not yet learned to fly, fell from the limb 
and hurt himself. He was wrapped in a strip of 
cloth and put in a box alone, and when seen half 
an hour later, he had swallowed about two inches 
of the rag he was wrapped in, and seemed bent 
on swallowing the rest. It was cut off, for he 
would not, or could not, let go. After taking 
this medicine he pined away and — was as well as 
ever in a few days, and better, for he began to 
pick up, and was soon as strong as the rest. 
It was now July, and I noticed a few red feath- 
ers pushing their way through the gray ones, and 
it was not long before they were clad in the red 
or mottled plumage. The Owls suffered a great 
deal from the hot weather, and were panting all 
day long, so I got a tin pan full of water and set 
it in the shed, then set the Owls on the edge, and 
they went in and enjoyed themselves. They al- 
ways wet themselves completely through, and 
were unable to fly for some time after. After a 
bath they would go to a sunny spot and sit there, 
with their wings spread and their eyes half 
closed. They also took sand and sun baths, and 
would sit in the sun with their wings extended 
lor some time. 
One morning an Owl was missing, and the fol- 
lowing day another, and nothing was heard of 
them afterwards. The remaining one was re- 
moved with his cage to a shady place in the open 
air, but he preferred the shed in the day time. 
When allowed the freedom of the shed at night 
he did not molest the chickens, nor did he get in 
their way himself, but if a lighted candle was 
taken in there after dark, he would put it out with 
his wings. He would pounce on live mice and 
birds that were brought to him, always being 
sure to get his claws about the throat of his vic- 
tims. I generally found him in a certain corner 
behind some boxes, in the day time, where he 
would remain undisturbed until evening. He 
liked grass hoppers, especially the large ones, of 
which I used to get him a large number. When 
placed before him alive, he would stand erect and 
gaze at the hopper for some time, then he would 
go prancing around it, stamping his feet, seem- 
ingly to get a favorable position to pounce 
from, and suddenly come down on it with both 
feet, as if it was something that would require all 
the strength he could m ister. He always tore 
off the legs of the hoppers, and the wing and 
tail feathers of birds. 
One day he was found in his favorite corner 
looking rather worn out, and the cause was ex- 
plained next day by his throwing up a pellet in 
which was a nail one and three-fourths inches long. 
He was never in a hurry unless after something, 
or something was after him. He paused after 
everything he ate, and every swallow he took 
while drinking. Whenever he saw a cat or dog, 
he would make off in the opposite direction in 
short time. He did not seem to be troubled at 
^all by the light, and would look at Buzzards and 
Chimney Swifts, following their flights with his 
eyes. It was amusing to see him pounce on red 
ants. He would watch one and wait until it got 
some distance away, then run after and pounce 
on it, after his manner of pouncing on grass- 
hoppers. He seldom got the ant, but a clawful 
of dirt instead. He would nibble at the dirt and 
then drop it to see where the ant had gone, then 
after it again. He went through the queerest 
notions when looking at anything ; would bob 
his head first to one side and then the other, then 
draw it forward and backward, while all the time 
the pupil of his eye would grow large, then small. 
I kept him through the Winter, and the follow- 
ing Spring he disappeared. O.&O. X.Maj,18S5.p. 
o.&o. 
■i 
as an anow and noiseless as a floating | 
feather, he struck out for the intruder, I 
knocking him over on the ground. For a 
moment it was a confused heap of chaff 
and owls, then they parted and looked 
each other squarely in the eye, then Scop 
with one wing drawn out before his head 
v advanced sidelong to renew the attack. 
Not wishing to provoke hostilities further 
I removed Asia from the enclosure, and 
right glad was he to come. 
The young Scops are at this date, Oct. 
27, just commencing to come out in red 
plumage, having a number of feathers so 
streaked on their back and wings. As I 
should have previously mentioned incuba- 
. tion occupied in this case only twenty-two 
days. I have never heard of these owls 
W-‘ breeding in captivity before, yet if they or 
, any other species have done so, a record 
i °f such would be appreciated by — F. H. 
Carpenter, Rehobeth, Mass. 
Vlli.D*c.l8B3.p^^ 
Snow Buntings and Pileated Wood- 
peckers. 
During a tramp over the mountains 
north of x this place early in October X saw 
large flocks of Snow Buntings (Rlectro- 
phanes nivalis ) and was informed by a 
“native’ that they were to be found all 
through the spring and summer. Strong 
circumstantial evidence in favor of their 
breeding there, if he told tjfe truth— and I 
have no reason to doubt if. It is certainly 
cold enough out there, efen in mid-summer 
to suit the most Borea/bird of my acquain- 
tance. I also saw two pileated Wood- 
peckers, {Ilylotomlcs pileahis.) I think 
they were wanderers, for the land has 
been pretty well/ cleared by fires^ and log- 
gers. I never, saw but one of these birds 
1 alive before. / It was in the begiilping of 
f last winter/ near Dover, Del. There had 
1 been a “freeze” the night before anil all 
s the small puddles, and a good many' of 
•1 the big ones had a pretty thick coat of ice; - 
f While' walking near a creek I heard some- 
f thing pounding on the ice, and then an an- 
f gry “ squeal ” unmistakeably a bird’s. A 
