RICHARDSON'S OWL 221 



tioned: "Like the slow tolling of a soft but high-pitched bell, it came. 

 Ting, ting, ting, ting, and on, rising and falling with the breeze, but 

 still keeping on about two tings to the second, and on, dulling as with 

 distance, but rising again and again." Seton listened for 20 minutes 

 to this song on the shores of the Athabaska River on a night in May, 

 and then went to sleep only to hear it again from time to time during 

 the night. 



A. TV. Schorger (1926) heard the same song in May on a cloudy 

 afternoon at Rose Lake, Minn., on the international boundary. 



Nesting. — There are comparatively few authentic records of the 

 nesting of this bird. One of the most complete is by Robie W. Tufts 

 (1925), who discovered, on April 11, 1924, a nest on one of the smaller 

 islands off the east coast of Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick. 

 This small island is about 3 miles long and half a mile wide, covered 

 largely with a growth of thick, stunted spruces, but with several acres 

 of hayfields where runways of field mice are abundant. 



For the most part the land is very low-lying and the highest ridges would not 

 be more than twelve feet above sea level. It was on one of these ridges, in an old 

 and much decayed stump, where a pair of Flickers had at one time held forth, 

 that the Owls had made their home, about ten feet from the ground and close to 

 the top of the stump. At the first tap the hole was quickly and completely 

 filled by the grey face of the bird peering down at me with slowly blinking eyes. 

 A second thump caused her to vacate the nest. This she accomplished, however, 

 with difficulty, since the fit was a tight one and she was obliged to hitch from side 

 to side before getting clear. She then flew to a perch about 20 feet away where 

 she sat nervously watching proceedings, but uttered no note. The nest cavity 

 was about ten inches deep and considerably enlarged at the base, which was 

 covered with a thick bed of soft decayed wood and feathers, well matted. Here 

 were deposited five much soiled eggs, typical of the Owl tribe as to shape and but 

 slightly incubated. After the eggs were collected and the writer had withdrawn 

 a few yards, the female returned to the nest and for some moments was seen cling- 

 ing to the entrance by her feet and fluttering there in a manner which suggested 

 a gigantic moth. Finally, after considerable effort, she was able to squeeze in 

 and was last seen peering from the hole just as though nothing had happened. 

 The male bird was not seen. The ground about the nest tree was examined for 

 pellets but none were discovered and during our stay on the island, which lasted 

 several hours, only one was found and this contained the fur, bones and skulls 

 of some small rodents. 



Although in this case the flicker's hole seems to have been rather 

 small for the owl, other holes of the flicker of the proper size are used. 

 According to Dr. Fisher (1893b), "it is very partial to the old holes 

 of the pileated woodpecker (Ceophloeus) , which seem to be just the 

 right size and shape to suit its fancy." Preble (1908) found near the 

 Slave River, ten miles below the Peace River on June 7, a nest in a 

 hole containing three young. "It was in the deserted hole of a flicker, 

 about 20 feet from the ground in a large balsam poplar stub, in deep 

 woods. The young were collected. Neither of the old birds was 



