.SAW-WllEI' OWL. 231 



from the- lists, fur it is In' many believed to he the young of the Haw- 

 whet, l^ltimately, conclusive e\i(lence that such was the case was 

 ^i-iven by Dr. .1. \V. N'elie, of Chicago, who kept a live albifrons till it 

 moulted, and liecanic a fine specimen of N ijciala acadica. The tran- 

 sition is described in detail in Baird, Brewer and Ridgway's "Birds 

 of North America," from which the following remarks are abridged : 



The bird was placed in a large cage, ^vlKM•e it had abundant room 

 to riy altout, and was well supjjlied with food. Through June and 

 Jul}' there was absolutely no change in its plumage. On the 1st of 

 August, a few medially spotted feathers were obsei'ved pushing their 

 way through the uniformly l)ru\vn ones on the fore part of the crown. 

 Through the next two weeks they gradually increased and developed, 

 until the full-face aspect of the head was that of an adult Saw-whet. 

 At this stage there was no indication of an}' second plumage on the 

 other parts, but about August 15th a few streaked feathers appeared 

 along the central line of the l)reast and abdomen, while a little later 

 the moulting began o\ei- tlie l)ack and wings, and quickly became 

 general. Through the last two weeks of the month the plumage 

 «ained daily, and l)y Septeml^er 1 st the final stage was perfected, and 

 the bird had become a remarkaljly beautiful Saw-whet Owl. 



From this it appears that the brown plumage is simply that which 

 succeeds the downy stage,' and it is even a little longer than in most 

 other owls before the autumnal dress is assumed. 



I am sorry to lose the little a/bijrons which I first heard described 

 by the late Dr. Kirtland. l)at much pleased to see the tiuth so fully 

 established regarding it. 



