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 Jan., 1911 A HISTORY OF CERTAIN GREAT IIORNltA) OWI.S 13 up mid down on a nearby limb and clearly ready to come agaiu. Under the cir- cumstances I slid down the ladder to firmer vantage ground. The slash which began on the left cheek and ran across the left ear was rather ugly but not danger- ous. Considering the eight claws of a Great Horned Owl, each an inch mid a quarter in length, I had gotten off easily. Evidently only one claw had taken effect, the curvature of the great tree trunk and my clinging position over the nest rim having given,doubtless,some protection. The 1tombhess was probably caused by the stroke of a rushing wing. When on May 9 I was again compelled to visit the nest alone I knew what to expect and so was constantly on my guard. About three seconds study of the young birds and nest contents was alternated with about the same amount of scrutiny of the immediate horizon. In this way it was possible to define an adult owl's rammer of at- tack. Three times on this oc- casion one of the birds flew in front a neighboriug tree and with strong stroke of wing came straight at my head. It was not at all the stoop of hawk or falcon, but rather the onrush of a heavy projectile with a very fiat trajectory. Like a large projectile too the flight was visible and so all the more disconcerting: unlike a projectile it was noiseless as a flying shadow. Audubon speaks of the hunting flight of the Great Horned Owl as being incredibly swift and, kind reader, I am quite ready to agree with him. The big bird, l)erched on a 1)ranch from thirty to fifty feet away, first shifts nervously from one foot Fig. 9. APRIL 13, 1907; O.VLETS OF VARIOUS MINDS: AGE THIRT-TVO TO THIRTY-SIX DAYS to the other, then launches swiftly into space. Titere is just time to brace oneself a little, swing one's cap, and quickly duck oue's head as the great nfissile rushes past. The owl keeps straight on her course and alights with heavy impact on a branch of a neighboring tree. Here she faces about and very likely comes straight back again. This process became finally a bit too exciting and, after making certain that the headless quadruped lying in the nest over behind the owlets was just a big house rat, I slipped down the ladder and went home. February 7, 1907, was cold and clear after the terrific snow storm of the night before. On this dab' Mr. James R. Smith, a young farmer of the vicinity who had always been interested in birds and who was destined to be my skillful assistant throughout the season, accompanied me to the snow-covered timber pasture. As we approached the nest tree of the year before a fox squirrel leaped from one of the smaller adjacent trees and, starting up the big elm,ran along the rim of the great knot- hole which formed the owls' doorway and scampered on to a topmost branch. If the owl were at home the saucy fellow surely passed within ten inches of her face.