26 RECORDS VOLUME XII, FEB. 1920 
ular feed. There has been some difference of opinion as to 
the desirability of this immediate proximity of the pig- 
eons; the owl, however, has settled the question for the 
present. 
During the day the owl was ichin easy pbservavion, 
resting on window sills and railings pndisturbed by peo- 
ple within a few feet of him. He wasseen to inspect the 
nesting boxes and following the inspection the area near | 
by was covered with scattered pigeon feathers among 
which was a pigeon’s head.and two meatless wings. 
Through an open window he got into one of the apart- 
ments, and bewildered by the light, he flew against a mir- 
ror, tore up curtains, and did some other damage, An 
empty hat box was thrown over him and he was cast out 
of the window. He has not been seen since; the Pigeons, 
too, have depated. 
An observer who was shown “phe Birds of New York’”’ 
picked the Great Gray Owl as the most accurate portrait, 
but what Brewster says in his *‘Birds of the Cambridge 
Region”’ seems to indicate the Barred Ow] as the visitor. 
A lady who has passed many years of her life in this 
vicinity is confident she saw this identical owl twenty 
years ago on a tree in the back-yard of the Curtises who 
are long residents on Mt. Vernon St. This indicates in the 
bird a meritoreous steadfastness of attachment. Another 
consideration should not be omitted, Within a stone’s 
throw of 65 Mt. Vernon St. was the home of Chief Justice 
Shaw. Still nearer for two years lived Danie] Webster in 
the house later of Charies Francis Adams. At one time 
Senator Lodge had an interest in 65 Mt. Vernon, and across 
the street lives the editor of the Atlantic Monthly. Owls 
possess wisdom or are the symbols of wisdom, which may 
