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Show 187-4.] MR. W. H. HUDSON ON THE BURROWING OWL. 309 Occasionally the Owls are seen preying by day, especially when any thing passes near, offering the chance of an easy capture: often I have amused myself throwing bits of earth near one as it sat by its kennel; for the bird will immediately give chase, only discovering its mistake when the stone is firmly clutched in its talons. When rearing their young they are perhaps quite as active by day as by night. On the hot days of November multitudes of two large species of Scarabaus appear; and the bulky bodies and noisy bungling flight of these beetles invite the Owls to pursuit; and on every side they are seen chasing and striking down the beetles, and tumbling upon them in the grass. Owls have a peculiar manner of taking their prey : they grapple it so tightly in their talons that they totter and strive to steady themselves by throwing out their wings this way and that, and, often losing their balance, fall prostrate, and flutter on the ground. If the animal captured be small, they proceed after a while to dispatch it with the beak ; if large, they usually rise laboriously from the earth, and fly to some distance with it, thus giving time for the wounds inflicted with their claws to do their work. H o w remarkable it is that the Tanioptera (so different in structure from Owls) should resemble them in the peculiar manner of seizing their prey! The Tanioptera frequently darts upon a large insect on the ground, and, grasping it with its feet, flutters and totters precisely like an Owl. This habit I have observed in four species of Tanioptera. At sunset the Burrowing Owls begin to hoot; a short followed by a long note is repeated many times, with an interval of a second of silence. There is nothing dreary or solemn in this performance; but it is rather soft and sorrowful, somewhat resembling the lowest notes of the flute in sound. In spring they hoot a great deal, many birds responding to each other. In the evening they are often seen hovering at a height of 40 yards above the surface, and continuing a minute or longer without altering their position. They do not drop the whole distance at once on their prey, but descend vertically, tumbling and fluttering, as if wounded, to within 10 yards of the earth, and then, after hovering a few seconds more, glide obliquely upon it. They prey on every living creature not too large to be overcome by them. Sometimes they sever off and leave un tasted the head, tail, and feet of a mouse. The hind quarters of frogs and toads are almost invariably rejected; and inasmuch as these are the most fleshy and succulent parts, this is a strange and unaccountable habit, They make an easy conquest of a snake 18 inches long, and kill it by dealing it blows with the beak, hopping briskly about it all the time, and appearing to guard themselves with the wings. Many individuals become destructive to poultry-yards, carrying off the chickens by day. In seasons of plenty they destroy more prey than they can devour; but in severe winters they come, apparently starving, about the houses, and will then stoop to carry off any dead animal food, |