SHORT-EAKED OWL 171 



zontal, and the inner end usually a little higher than the aperture; 

 lined with dry grass and feathers.' The burrows were not over two 

 feet deep, usually excavated in the side of a steep bank." 



A few descriptions of individual nests will serve to show their 

 character. A. D. DuBois (MS.) thus describes a nest in Montana: 

 "The nest was situated on almost level ground — on the slight west 

 slope of a knoll, amid the young growing wheat and the old last year's 

 stubble. It was a shallow depression in the earth, sparingly lined 

 with old wheat straws and the shredded husks of the stubble. There 

 were a few soft feathers about the edges. A dried Canada thistle, 

 remaining from the previous year, afforded slight protection on the 

 east." 



Charles A. Urner (1923) described a nest in a salt marsh near 

 Elizabeth, N. J. The nest "was composed almost entirely of salt hay 

 and about Dine inches in diameter and an inch and a half to two 

 inches thick. * * * The ground, immediately about the nest for 

 a distance of four inches had apparently been almost cleared to furnish 

 material and on one side the thick stubble still stood as if the matted 

 dried grass had been broken off by the bird's bill. The presence of 

 feathers (apparently owl's feathers) throughout the mass of the nest 

 furnished additional evidence that this species of owl actually con- 

 structs its own nest." 



J. Claire Wood (1907) thus describes a nest found in Michigan: 

 "It was a mere platform of dead marsh grass half an inch thick and 

 covering a spot of bare ground ten by eighteen inches. The long 

 'saw-grass' formed an arch over the nest, but there was an opening 

 at the easterly end leading into an open space about two feet wide 

 by four long — a sort of play and feeding grounds for the young." 

 The nest and vicinity were kept clean of all castings, down, feathers, 

 etc., that would tend to betray its existence. On the other hand, nests 

 and their vicinity are often foul with droppings, feathers, and pellets. 



Bendire (1892) describes two nests found in Idaho on the ground, 

 "one in the center of a tall bunch of rye grass, the other by the side of 

 one of these, and both were well hidden. * * * They were simply 

 slight depressions not more than 2 inches deep, lined with pieces of dry 

 grass and a few feathers from the birds." 



That the short-eared owl may occasionally return to the same nest- 

 ing site seems to have been shown by Urner (1923) who discovered 

 directly under a new nest in 1922 "a more or less discolored white 

 egg, one side slightly cracked as if from freezing, the dimensions 

 corresponding to the egg of the short-eared owl. * * * Under 

 the cracked egg could still be seen the outline of a well-rotted nest, 

 presumably from the 1921 season." 



Eggs. — [Author's note: The short-eared owl may lay anywhere 

 from four to nine eggs, and rarely even more; but the commonest 



