drop its legs to their full length with talons wide spread, 
apparently with the expectation of picking a Mouse off 
the crown of my hat. Indeed, its behavior was so threat¬ 
ening that I was positively afraid to continue the 
imitation. Shortly after I stopped it, the bird alighted 
on the topmost slended twig of a scrub oak within four or 
five yards of me while the male returned to his former 
perch in the pine. 
I had them both alternately under my glass for 
several minutes longer and in a sufficiently good light 
to be able to see all their characteristic markings dis¬ 
tinctly. One bird sat rather erect, the other took a 
crouching posture with the plumage so puffed out that the 
bird looked nearly as big as a Hen. Both showed their 
ear tufts but these were not held erect as represented 
by stuffed specimens or drawings; on the contrary, they 
drooped backward nearly or quite touching the shorter 
feathers of the crown. 
I have never seen any Owls so alert and animated 
as were these. They kept their heads in almost constant 
motion, turning them quickly in every direction, looking 
not only down towards the ground but on every side and 
occasionally even upwa rd as if they hoped to discover 
something of interest or value among the surrounding 
branches. 
