. Our winter birds, how to know and how to attract them . c islands. What anincalculable number of years his kind must havelived to become so widely distributed over theearths surface! Unlike most Owls, he shuns the forest and livesin marshy, grassy places. During the winter we areapt to find him near the coast. He arises from thegrasses almost at our feet and flies silently to somestump or little knoll to watch us as we approach. Occasionally he may be seen by day beating lowover the marsh in search of the meadow-mice whichform the largest part of his fare. Perhaps the factthat these mice are
. Our winter birds, how to know and how to attract them . c islands. What anincalculable number of years his kind must havelived to become so widely distributed over theearths surface! Unlike most Owls, he shuns the forest and livesin marshy, grassy places. During the winter we areapt to find him near the coast. He arises from thegrasses almost at our feet and flies silently to somestump or little knoll to watch us as we approach. Occasionally he may be seen by day beating lowover the marsh in search of the meadow-mice whichform the largest part of his fare. Perhaps the factthat these mice are active by day accounts for the Owls diurnal habits. 129 I30 OUR WINTER BIRDS Like the Marsh Hawk, the Short-eared or MarshOwl nests upon the ground, laying four to sevenwhite eggs in April. While the Short-eared Owlsears are not ears, they certainly are short, beingbarely evident unless the Owl raises them; and thisfact, in connection with its yellowish brown plum-age, yellow eyes and the character of its haunts, willserve to identif 7 it. FOREST BIRDS. IVFOREST BIRDS HE tree-inhabiting birds like theChickadee, Nuthatches and Wood-peckers, which come about ourhomes, are all forest birds which,when the forests disappear or de-crease in extent, adapt themselvesto the change and accept the trees of our orchardsand gardens in place of those of the woods. But there are other species which cannot makethis change. Either they do not find the food theyrequire near the home of man, or they are by naturetoo wild to take up their residence near ours. The Screech Owl finds an old apple-tree just asgood a home as a forest-growing beech. But theGreat Horned Owl will not leave his forest dwell-ing; and when it disappears he seeks another like if we want to see him and other true wood in-habitants, we must go to their haunts. While we cannot value too highly the friendshipof Chickadee, Downy and Nuthatch, it is well thatsome birds should express to us the spirit of thewilderness and for
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