Evening star., 1934-02-17

and once you have found woods where
SO many fascinating folk dwell, life
takes on q different hue.
Why these little creatures should
wear such freakish clothes we do not
know. 1t may be they are more tenn
neramental than their brethren. II
is not at all unusual to find the twins
dressed differently. Their father may
have on rusty red and their mother
mottled gray. When one set Of plu-
mage is being changed for another,
the variations of color are extremely
marked.
Though they wear no horns, they
do have very prominent ear tufts that
are most becoming. The yellow eyes
look at you solemnly and blink at
the bright light thrown on them.
Standing before their doorway, with
their feathers almost coming to their
ankles, they appear to have on their
golf trousers and ready to go.
The weird, melancholy whistle that
Is so often heard, and to those who
have been so fortunate as to have
spent the earlier part Of their LIE
In the country, very familiar. Is the
neighbors.
After sleeping and fasting all day,
the owl decides that nice plump
mouse, fattened on grain, and even
the food found in the house nearby,
would taste just right. Mice being
night providers, too, are not last
enough to outwit the silent and clever
owl. As the mouse scurries across the
lawn or through the grass, the great
yellow eyes of the hunter gleam, ana
without q sound. measure the distance
so accurately that the mouse is caught
I'D by the strong curved claws ana
Is ON her way to the owls home in
the tree, before she has realized what
has happened. Owls are our friends,
and should be known better TO be
appreciated.
As a wooer, the screech owl Is Q
master. Having found the lady he
wishes to wed, the suitor establishes
himself on a limb just as close to
her home as he can get, and selects
with care. He goes through some OF
the strangest antics you ever saw,
and. of course, does all OF them 10
impress the young maiden. She Is
shy and has taken refuge in the deep
foliage of the tree, but where she
can see every move he makes
After settling himself upon the
limb. he begins by fiufhng out his
feathers, looking pompous indeed.
Then he bows so gallantly that ne
almost tumbles from his platform.
The wings are raised and he snaps
his bill to attract her attention. AS
he gets more and more interested IN
his love making, he hops closer and
closer to where he knows she Is hid
den. and could you have seen her,
YOU would have been startled by the
almost humanlike wink and dron ex-
preston Of the lady. When she In
clines her head, she has accepted him,
and he comes at once to her side.
For a short time they sit close TO
each other, kissing once in 3 while,
then they fiy away together.
The marriage of these birds takes
place in March, and it Is believed that
owls wed for life. The home site is
usually an abandoned home OF q
SQUIRREL or natural cavity Of tree.
| The eggs are laid on the trash found
| in the nest. They are pure white,
and from two to four are laid Father
and mother take turns at keeping
| the eggs protected at night, but sit
| close together, doing, through the
daytime. The baby owls are precious
little things, and their parents are
| devoted to them
The blue jay is their most aggres-
sive tormentor. The little tease knows
that the screech owl cannot see well
| in the day time, so she comes to the
owls doorway and pretends she is
going to peck her eyes out. OF course,
| the owl can only stand so much, and
once she starts after the blue jay
the rascal goes a safe distance away
and jeers.
| (Copyrisht, 1p34.)