MEXICAN SPOTTED OWL 211 



or thirty feet from the ground on a small horizontal limb near the 

 trunk of a spruce or fir." 



Nesting. — To Major Bendire (1892) belongs the honor of discovering 

 the first nest of this owl, near Whipples Station, Ariz., on April 17, 

 1872, of which he writes: 



My attention was first drawn to the nest by one of my men, who noticed a 

 bird sitting on it. Rapping on the trunk of the tree it flew into the branches of 

 another close by, from which I shot it. * * * The nest appeared to me to 

 be a new one, built by the birds themselves; it was about 30 feet from the ground 

 and placed in a fork close to the trunk of a large and bushy Cottonwood tree 

 standing in the midst of a dense grove of younger trees of the same species. It 

 was composed of sticks, twigs, and the dry inner bark of the Cottonwood, lined 

 with some dry grasses and a few feathers. The inner cavity was about 2 inches 

 deep, and the nest itself about the size of that of the larger Hawks. It was 

 readily seen from below, but not so easily observed a little distance away, the 

 foliage of the tree hiding it pretty effectually. 



O. C. Poling wrote to him: "I discovered a nest and four newly 

 hatched young of the Spotted Owl in the foothills among the oaks 

 at the northern end of the Huachuca Mountains in Arizona. This 

 was on May 23, 1890. Both parents were close to the nest and took 

 little notice of me as I approached close to them. The nest was simply 

 a large cavity in an oak about 10 feet from the ground." 



Mr. Ligon (1926) has found several nests in New Mexico; he writes: 



On April 4, 1925, I located the first nest containing eggs; this nest was in the 

 entrance of a cave, about which pine and fir trees grew, on the south side of a 

 steep canyon. The cave faced the north, insuring perpetual shade, and had an 

 opening about thirty-five feet high, forming a large circular room forty feet in 

 depth. The nest, which was an old one reconstructed, was situated on a shelf 

 about four feet wide and thirty feet from the floor of the cave on the east side of the 

 entrance. The overhanging roof of the cave and the perpendicular wall on the 

 side concealed the nest from above and only by the use of an improvised ladder 

 could it be reached from below. It was constructed of pine limbs and twigs and 

 some small clusters of dead pine needles, and three feet or more in diameter. 

 The cavity was about three inches deep and ten inches wide and contained no 

 lining. 



The above was probably an old eagle's or raven's nest; it contained 

 three eggs (pi. 51). Two days later he — 



located another nest in a narrow box canon, the southern slope of which, wherever 

 there was footing, supported a rather thick growth of young fir, fifty to seventy- 

 five feet high. I knew this particular place to be an Owl haunt and also knew 

 there were some old nests in the caves and crevices of the canyon wall. I investi- 

 gated several old nests but none of these showed signs of having been used this 

 season; however, up in a narrow cave or rent, which penetrated well back into the 

 cliff that stood behind the evergreens was evidence that the Owls were inhabiting 

 the place. An old nest in the cave was inspected and as I was about to leave it, 

 I discovered at the entrance of the cave, about twenty-five feet up in the side wall 

 to my left, projecting sticks and a few clinging feathers in a natural cavity or 

 pocket. * * * The cavity, which could not have been more suitable if made 

 to order, was just large enough to permit of the construction of the nest, about 



