CALIFORNIA PYGMY OWL 415 



C W. Michael, with exceptional opportunities to watch pygmy 

 owls, tells me that "when the young come along the male continues 

 to do the hunting, and while the young remain in the nest he usually 

 brings in small song birds. As the young grow more vigorous he 

 brings in more substantial food, in the form of lizards, chipmunks, 

 and field mice. It is an interesting sight to see a mother pygmy owl 

 perched on a limb and surrounded by her young, encouraging each 

 in turn to tear off a bite of meat from the chipmunk she holds in her 

 talons. The pygmy owls nest early, and the young birds are usually 

 ready to leave the nest by the first or second week of June." On one 

 occasion, when the male had passed a vireo to his mate, "she held the 

 body of the vireo under her feet and then reaching forward she plucked 

 the large feathers one by one. For ten minutes she was very busy, 

 and there was a constant rain of feathers drifting down from her 

 perch. While plucking feathers she appeared also to be mauling and 

 beating the body. Finally when the feathered morsel was properly 

 prepared she flew to another oak, and, as we watched, she disappeared 

 into an old woodpecker hole drawing her burden in after her. And 

 then there were squeals and squeaks as though a family of vigorous 

 young were fighting for their breakfast." On "June 5 we were again 

 at the pygmy owl's nest. The nest was silent and nothing was seen 

 of the old birds. A little after nine there came the faint, flattered 

 notes that announce the arrival of a bird with food. The notes seemed 

 to come from a nearby oak, but nothing was seen of the old birds. So 

 far as the owls themselves were concerned this completed the record 

 for the morning. The conclusion was that the young owls had grown 

 up and had abandoned the nest on this hot day, but were still being 

 fed in the neighborhood." 



In another nest in the Yosemite, the owlets were much later in 

 leaving the nest. F. C. Holman (1926) says of this: 



The first evidence that the young were receiving solid food was on June 10 

 [1925], when the female carried a lizard to the nest. As far as observed, the male 

 never took part in feeding the young. No pellets or refuse of any kind could be 

 found under the tree. 



On June 21 a young bird appeared at the opening, and it was soon apparent 

 that there were no others. From that time on to July 1, when the nest was deserted 

 it sat daily at the entrance. During the following days the bird remained near at 

 hand, and gradually worked up the talus slope. The young bird appeared from 

 the first fully developed, with no immaturity noticeable in the plumage. It 

 was never fed at the entrance, but was first crowded back out of sight by the 

 mother. On one occasion when she was away, and the young one sat there as 

 usual, the male arrived with food and alighted in a neighboring tree. The young 

 bird showed no recognition of the frequent calls; in fact the two acted as though 

 oblivious of each other, and nothing took place during the half-hour they were 

 under observation. 



Dependence on the adults for food does not last long. Soon after 

 leaving the nest the young, probably taught by* the parents, learn to 



