The Spotted Owl 
indifference. I he all-important business of an Owl’s daytime hours 
is slumber; and it was politely assumed that no gentleman would wish 
to do anything which would seriously interfere with that pleasant occu¬ 
pation. \\ ill you look at the babies? Oh ! very well; but only let us sleep. 
Safely ensconced in___ _ 
a neighboring fir tree ---- - — 
Dickey makes the fol¬ 
lowing observations on 
the morning toilet of the 
mistress: “Contorting 
herself into every con¬ 
ceivable position, she 
shook her feathers into 
place and carefully 
preened away every 
frayed feather tip. 
There was something 
ludicrous in her every 
action. Even in the 
midst of her toilet, there 
were sudden periods 
when Morpheus seemed 
to overpower her, and 
she woidcl doze off, only 
to awake with a start a 
few minutes later and 
continue the perform¬ 
ance. Her movements 
were much more gentle 
than those of the Horned 
Owls. The lack of their 
ear tufts and yellow 
irides also gave her a far 
more agreeable expres¬ 
sion, although l 
must confess that 
certain startled ex¬ 
pressions,—when 
one did succeed in 
startling her,—seemed 
unpleasantly lynx- 
j 
Taken in Ventura County Photo by Donald R. Dickey 
LIKE SOME PATRIARCHAL GNOME 
1093 
