294 BULLETIN 17 0, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



from which he may be calling, and there may or may not be intervening branches 

 between the bird and the ground. 



In my experience, the Flammulated is the shyest of the screech owls at night, 

 and is adept at keeping some obstruction between itself and the observer, although 

 a given individual may not be consistent in this. It is greatly assisted in avoiding 

 detection by the color of its plumage. The owl's back blends perfectly with the 

 bark of the pine tree, and the markings of its underparts with that of the white 

 oak at night, so that it is almost invisible when it is perched with its back toward 

 the stem of the tree. 



Mrs. Florence M. Bailey (1928) writes: "The bird which Mr. Ligon 

 collected in 1920 was at the time 'sitting on the loose fine rock of a 

 slide, under thick brush.' On the Indian School campus at Santa 

 Fe, Mr. Jensen found one sleeping in a peach tree in the orchard, 

 and another dead under a light wire. One found by Mr. H. H. Kim- 

 ball in the San Francisco Mountains was roosting in a road-camp 

 'garage, made out of upright pine poles roofed with galvanized iron,' 

 in which a three-ton truck was kept. As Mr. Kimball remarks, 

 'evidently it had found the semi-darkened interior of the building a 

 satisfactory resting place during the day.' " 



Voice. — Mr. Jacot (1931) says: 



The mating song is composed of two notes: boo-boot. The second note is 

 accentuated and louder than the first. This song is usually given at regular 

 intervals so that it becomes monotonous. However, at times, when a bird's 

 attention is attracted, the song may be uttered at irregular intervals. The boo 

 note is often dropped and the boot note given alone. At such times, this note may 

 be considered by the birds as a note of warning. The mating song of the Flam- 

 mulated Screech Owl is the most ventriloquial owl call I have ever heard. 



The male, and I believe also the female, when apprehensive, utters a mewing 

 note, very much like that of a kitten, and almost identical with a warning note of 

 the Elf Owl. In courting, both birds make clucking noises, and upon rare occa- 

 sions one of the birds (it was not determined which) utters a screech which with 

 a little more volume would be "blood-curdling". 



Dr. Joseph Grinnell (1908) writes: 



On the evening of July 15, 1905, at Bluff lake, I obtained an adult male specimen 

 of this rare species. During the preceding two evenings we had repeatedly heard 

 a peculiar note, different from that of any other owl we had ever heard. It 

 consisted of a single mellow "whoot," repeated at regular intervals, something 

 like the call note of the phainopepla in this respect. These notes began to be 

 heard at early dusk, by seven o'clock; but on account of their ventriloquial 

 quality gave little clue as to distance. Although far-reaching the notes proved 

 to have been uttered really close at hand. By careful stalking the point of origin 

 was located in the top of a tall yellow pine 200 yards from our camp; and presently 

 a small bird with a true owl silhouette flew across an open space and lit in the top 

 of a tall tree fully 100 feet from the ground. A charge of number 7 shot started 

 it down and after a few minutes lodgement, it fell to the ground at my feet, 

 my first and only specimen of the dwarf screech owl, and one of the rarest birds 

 in California. 



Field marks. — The small size of this owl, the short, rounded ear 

 tufts, the dark chocolate-brown eyes, and the prettily variegated color 



