had probably fa.llen from a nest about as large as a Crov/*s nest 
?;hich v/e could see in a fork of the pine, directly over their 
beads and about forty feet above the ground. By them la.y the 
skin of a Rabbit apparently nearly entire and freshly torn off. 
The pine stauids on level ground on the top of a ridge bordering 
the river mepvdow. The ¥/oods a,re at present about six acres in 
extent and are almost v/holly composed or large, old white pines. 
1898 
May 2 In the afternoon I sa.iled down to the great Bedford 
Swamp where I dug some Rliodora bushes and then crossed the river 
(still under S8.il) to Lawrence*s woods v;here I visited the 
young G-reat Horned Owls. They v/ere in the same place but 
they had moved about one c|uarter around the trunk of the pine, 
evidently as I thought because the wind had changed, for yesterday, 
when it was north, they were on the south side of the tree and 
to-day, when it was south-east, on the north-west side. 
While I was looking at them, standing about 20 yards 
away, one of the old birds began hooting in the pines behind me; 
presently it appeared and, flying from tree to tree, moved round 
me in a half circle, keeping just beyond gunrange and behaving 
in the most curious manner. Alighting close to the trunk of a 
pine, at a height of 30 or 40 feet above the ground, it would 
follow the branch out nearly to the end, walking steadily and at 
times rather quickly, its body horizontal, its wings wide-spread 
and flapping slowly like those of a big butterfly, its head 
lov/ered considerably below the line of the back, its horns 
slightly ra.ised and its eyes glaring fiercely. It hooted every 
half minute or so in low, cooing tones. Its mate also hooted in 
answer but soon afterwards flew off to another piece of woods^ 
