WESTERN BURROWING OWL 387 



small scraps of dead animals, such as pieces of the skin of the antelope, 

 half dried and half putrified; the skin of the coyote, etc.; and near the 

 nest were the remains of a snake that I had killed two days before, a 

 large Coluber ? two feet long. The birds had begun at the snake's 

 head, and had picked off the flesh clean from the vertebrse and ribs 

 for about one-half its length; the other half of the snake was entire. 

 The material on which the young birds rested was at least three 

 inches deep." 



Mrs. Florence M. Bailey (1928) writes: "At one nest entrance near 

 Roswell, Mr. Bailey noted a great abundance of dry horse manure, 

 some corn cobs, charcoal, tufts of cow hair, bits of hide, pieces of bone, 

 a child's woolen mitten, a piece of calico, and other rags, shore lark 

 and other bird feathers, and bits of insects. Part of this material 

 was evidently the remains of food. The rest may have been collected 

 on the principle that Rock Wrens apparently mark their nest hole in 

 a cliff full of holes, as a matter of convenience; or, if prairie dogs ever 

 enter each other's burrows, the door plate may be to prevent un- 

 pleasant mistakes. The smooth brown ejected pellets are easily 

 picked up around the burrows." 



While driving across the prairie in Cochise County, Ariz., on April 

 26, 1922, we saw a burrowing owl sitting on the mound at the en- 

 trance of its burrow, close to the road ; on digging it out we found the 

 burrow to be semicircular, measuring 9 feet around the curve but 

 only 5 feet in a straight line from the entrance to the nest cavity, 

 which was only 10 inches below the surface. The female was sitting 

 on nine fresh eggs. 



Eggs. — Bendire (1892) says: 



The number of eggs laid by the Burrowing Owl varies from six to eleven. From 

 seven to nine are more often found, while sets of ten and eleven are not especially 

 rare, and Mr. Walter E. Bryant, of Oakland, California, found one of twelve near 

 Carson, Nevada. The eggs are usually found in a single layer and disposed in 

 the form of a horseshoe. On two occasions in extra large sets, I found them placed 

 on top of each other. 



It is astonishing how they manage to cover them all, but they do, and it is rare 

 to find an addled egg. * * * 



The eggs of the Burrowing Owl, after they are washed, are pure white in color, 

 but as taken from the burrow they are ususally much soiled by the excrement of 

 the numerous fleas inhabiting these domiciles, and bear then no resemblance to 

 white. They are much more glossy than most Owls' eggs and are usually rounded 

 ovate in shape. The shell is close grained and smooth, but in some sets it is 

 ■strongly granulated. 



The measurements of 214 eggs in the United States National Museum 

 average 31 by 25.5 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes 

 measure 34 by 27, 31 by 28, 28 by 25, and 32 by 24 millimeters. 



Young. — Major Bendire (1892) says that "both parents assist in 

 incubation, which lasts about three weeks, and but a single brood is 

 raised in a season. A second, and somewhat smaller set is frequently 



