hear when the birds of night, on a still summer evening, are flying over short distances in a neighboring wood. There is a feeling of mystery awakened by these sounds that exalts the pleasure we derive from the delightful influence of the hour and the season. But the emotions thus produced are of a cheerful kind, slightly imbued with sadness, and not equal in intensity to the effects of the hardly perceptible sound occasioned by the flight of the Owl as he glides by in the dusk of evening or in the dim light of the moon. Similar in effect is the dismal voice of this bird, which is harmonized with darkness, and, though in some cases not unmusical, is tuned as it were to the terrors of that hour when he makes secret warfare upon the sleeping inhabitants of the wood. THE ACADIAN OWL, OR SAW-WHETTER. One of the most interesting of this family of birds is the little Acadian Owl, whose note formerly excited much curiosity. In the "Canadian Naturalist" an account is given of a rural excursion in April, when the attention of the party was called, just after sunset, to a peculiar sound heard in a cedar-swamp. It was compared to the measured tinkling of a cowbell, or to regular strokes upon a piece of iron quickly repeated. One of the party, who could not describe the bird, remembered that "during the months of April and May, and in the former part of June, we frequently hear after nightfall the sound just described. From its regularity it is thought to resemble the whetting of a saw, and hence the bird from which it proceeds is called the Saw-Whetter." These singular sounds are the notes of the Acadian Owl. They are like the sound produced by the filing of a mill-saw, and are said to be the amatory note of the male, being heard only during the season of incubation. Mr. S. P. Fowler informed me by letter that "the Acadian birds, then accompanied by their young, while hunting their prey in the moonlight, utter a peculiar note resembling a suppressed moan or low whistle. The little Acadian, to avoid the annoyance of the birds he would meet by day, and the blinding light of the sun, retires in the morning, his feathers wet with dew and rumpled by the hard struggles he has encountered in seizing his prey, to the gloom of the forest or the thick swamp. There, perched on a bough near the trunk of the tree, he sleeps through a summer's day, the perfect picture of a used-up little fellow, suffering the evil effects of a night's carouse." THE SCREECH-OWL. The Mottled Owl, or Screech-owl, is somewhat larger than the Acadian, or Whetsaw, but not so familiar as the Barn Owl of Europe, which he resembles. He builds in the hollows of old trees and in deserted buildings, whither he resorts in the daytime for repose and security. His voice is heard most frequently in the latter part of summer, when the young owlets are abroad. They use their cries for mutual salutation and recognition. The wailing note of this Owl is singularly wild and not unmusical. It is not properly a screech or a scream, like that of the hawk or the peacock, but rather a sort of moaning melody, half music and half bewailment. This plaintive strain is far from disagreeable, though it has a cadence expressive of dreariness and desolation. It might be performed on a fife, beginning with D octave and running down by quarter-tones to a third below, frequently repeating the notes with occasional pauses for about one minute. The bird does not slur his notes, but utters them with a sort of tremulous staccato. The separate notes may be distinctly perceived, though the intervals are hardly appreciable. The generality of this family of birds cannot be regarded as useful. They are only mischievous birds of prey, and no more entitled to mercy or protection than the Falcons, to which they are allied. All the little Owls, however, though guilty of destroying small birds, are serviceable in ridding our fields and premises of mischievous animals. They destroy multitudes of large nocturnal insects, flying above the summits of trees in pursuit of them, while at other times their flight is low, when watching for mice and moles, that run upon the ground. It is on account of its low flight that the Owl is seldom seen upon the wing. Bats, which are employed by Nature for similar services, fall victims in large numbers to the Owls, which are the principal means of checking their multiplication. An interesting family of nocturnal birds are the Mothhunters, of which in New England there are only two species, the Whippoorwill and the Nighthawk. These birds resemble the Owls in some of their habits; but in their structure, their mode of obtaining subsistence, and in their general characters they resemble Swallows. They are shy and solitary, take their food while on the wing, abide chiefly in the deep woods, and come abroad only at twilight or in cloudy weather. They remain, like the Dove, permanently paired, lay their eggs on the bare ground, and, when perched, sit upon the branch lengthwise, unlike other birds. They are remarkable for their singular voices, and only one species the Whippoorwill may be considered musical. They are inhabitants of all parts of the world, but are particularly numerous in the warmer regions of North and South America, where the curiosity of the traveller is constantly excited by their voices resembling human speech. THE WHIPPOORWILL. The Whippoorwill is well known to the inhabitants of New England by his nocturnal song. This is heard chiefly in wooded and retired situations, and is associated with the solitude of the forest as well as the silence of the night. The Whippoorwill is therefore emblematic of the rudeness of primitive nature, and his voice reminds us of seclusion and retirement. Sometimes he wanders away from the wood into the precincts of the town, and sings near our dwelling-houses. Such an incident was formerly the occasion of superstitious alarm, and was regarded as an omen of evil to the inmates of the dwelling. The cause of these irregular visits is probably the accidental abundance of a particular kind of insects which the bird has followed from the woods. The Whippoorwill in this part of the country is first heard in May, and continues vocal until the middle of July. He begins to sing at dusk; and we usually hear his note soon after the Veery, the Philomel of our summer evenings, has become silent. His song consists of three notes, in a sort of polka-time, with a slight rest after the first note in each bar, as given below: Whip poor will Whip poor will Whip poor will Whip. I should remark that the bird begins his song with the second syllable of his name, if we may suppose him to utter the word, or I might say with the second note in the bar. Some birds occasionally, though seldom, fall short of these musical intervals, as they are written on the scale, and an occasional cluck is heard when we are near the singer. The notes of the Quail so clearly resemble those of the Whippoorwill that I give them below, that they may be compared. Bob White More Wet. So great is the similarity of the notes of these two birds, that those of the Quail need only be repeated in succession without pause to be mistaken, if heard in the night, for those of the Whippoorwill. They are uttered with a similar intonation; but the voice of the nocturnal bird is more harsh, and his song consists of three notes instead of two, and is pitched a few tones higher. The song of the Whippoorwill, though wanting in mellowness of tone, as may be perceived when we are near him, is very agreeable except to a few, notwithstanding the superstitions associated with it. Some persons are not disposed to class the Whippoorwill among singingbirds, regarding him as more vociferous than musical. But it would be difficult to determine in what respect his notes differ from the songs of other birds, except that they approach more nearly to the precision of artificial music. Yet it will be admitted that a considerable distance is required to lend enchantment" to the sound of his voice. In some retired and solitary districts, the Whippoorwills are so numerous as to be annoying by their vociferations. But in those places where only a few individuals are heard during the season, their music is a source of great pleasure, and constitutes one of the principal charms of the neighborhood. " I was witness of this some years ago, in one of my botanical rambles in Essex County, which is for the most part too open and cleared to suit the habits of these solitary birds. On one of these excursions, after walking |