It courts rather than shuns human society. In some rural districts this familiarity is more manifest than in others, particularly where unduly harassed by boys and equally offensive birds. The immense good which these Owls accomplish in the destruction of vermin should command for them proper respect, but the most cruel persecutions are the only reward which they receive. The evil which some of their less scrupulous and larger brethren commit, reflects upon them, and they, through ignorance and superstition, are made the scape-goats for a multiplicity of sins. But fortunately there are localities where they are held in high estimation by persons of sense and education, and amply recompensed. Here they become remarkably unsuspicious, nesting and roosting in hollow trees, and even venturing into barns and out-buildings to spend the night. More eminently nocturnal than any of its kind, it does not emerge from its darksome quarters until the day has expired, and gloomy night has assumed the rod of empire. In the uncertain twilight a few individuals, pressed by hunger, may often be seen abroad, but it is not until every trace of day has been obliterated that we find the majority on the wing, in noiseless pursuit of game. When aroused during the daytime its movements are somewhat dubious, and it acts very much like a child who has been awakened from a sound sleep in the midst of a brilliantly-lighted room. In cloudy weather less difficulty is experienced, and its actions are freer. Young birds seem to be better adapted to sunlight than their parents. May it not be that the constant habit of sleeping during the day, consequent upon a night's carousal, has so weakened the visual organs as to render them ill-fitted for day-toil? Animals, accustomed to diurnal occupations, suffer considerable inconvenience for a while when compelled to work at night. A return to day-labor is attended, though perhaps in a less degree, by the same discomfort. The irides undoubtedly habituate themselves to a reversal of habit. It is a notorious fact that the young of the Great-horned Owl can endure the intense light of the sun almost equally with the Eagle, although being mainly nocturnal in habits. It is brought about by the voluntary, rather than the automatic, movements of the iris. This fact associated with the already mentioned circumstance in the history of the present species, strongly favors the hypothesis that all our Owls can in time adapt themselves to a change of habit _pari passu_ with visual modification, as instanced in the case of the Day Owl.