THE BARRED OWL. 
283 : 
about two hours before sunset, in the month of Novem- 
ber, I saw a barred owl teazed by several crows, and 
chased from the tree in which it was. On leaving* the 
tree, it gradually rose in the air, in the manner of a 
hawk, and at length attained so great a height, that 
our party lost sight of it. It acted, I thought, as if it 
had lost itself, now and then describing small circles, 
and flapping its wings quickly, then flying in zigzag 
lines. This being so uncommon an occurrence, I noted 
it down at the time. I felt anxious to see the bird 
return towards the earth, but it did not make its 
appearance again. So very lightly do they fly, that I 
have frequently discovered one passing over me, and 
only a few yards distant, by first seeing its shadow on 
the ground, during clear moonlight nights, when not 
the faintest rustling of its wings could be heard. 
“ Their power of sight during the day seems to be 
rather of an equivocal character, as I once saw one 
alight on the back of a cow, which it left so suddenly 
afterwards, when the cow moved, as to prove to me 
that it had mistaken the object on which it had perched 
for something else. At other times, I have observed, that 
the approach of the gray squirrel intimidated them, if one 
of these animals accidentally jumped on a branch close to 
them, although the owl destroys a number of them during 
the twilight. It is for this reason, kind reader, that I have- 
represented the barred owl gazing in amazement at one 
of the squirrels placed only a few inches from him. 
“ The barred owl is a great destroyer of poultry, 
particularly of chickens when half grown. It also 
secures mice, young hares, rabbits, and many species of 
small birds, but is especially fond of a kind of frog of a 
brown colour, very common in the woods of Louisiana. 
I have heard it asserted that this bird catches fish, but 
never having seen it do so, and never having found any 
portion of fish in its stomach, I cannot vouch for the 
truth of the report. 
“ About the middle of March, these owls begin to lay 
their eggs. This they usually do in the hollows of 
trees, on the dust of the decomposed wood. At other 
