SAW-WHET OWL 231 



leaves surrounded by a circle of twigs from 6 to 12 inches long. These 

 twigs protruding from the hole are frequently indications of the nest, 

 since the saw- whet is not easily flushed by pounding on the tree, as 

 are other species. When the female leaves, she first drops down and 

 then flies directly up to a limb at the same height opposite the nest, 

 alighting first across the limb, then turning parallel with it, keeping up 

 a bobbing, peering motion of the head and neck in an apparent effort 

 to adjust her eyes to the light and discover the cause of the dis- 

 turbance." 



Numerous other accounts of the nesting habits of the saw-whet owl 

 have appeared in various publications, but they are all more or less 

 similar. Old deserted nests of woodpeckers seem to be the sites 

 oftenest chosen, with a decided preference for flicker holes, as these 

 are about the right size. I believe that the owls never bring in any 

 nesting material, but lay their eggs on the fine chips usually found in 

 such cavities; the numerous cases reported, where other material has 

 been found in the nesting holes, merely indicate, in my opinion, that 

 flying squirrels, white-footed mice, or other small rodents had built 

 their nests in these holes, and that the owls had not taken the trouble 

 to remove the material. Most observers agree in stating that this 

 owl will usually show itself at the entrance of the hole when the tree 

 is rapped, its little round head completely filling the entrance, and 

 remain there until further disturbed ; this is in marked contrast to the 

 behavior of the screech owls under similar circumstances. 



There are at least two cases reported of this owl nesting in open 

 nests of crows or herons, but I believe that these are cases of mistaken 

 identity. The normal habit of the saw- whet owl is to nest in deep 

 woods, or swamps, but Ned Hollister (1908) reports a case in Indiana, 

 where "the nesting site was in a lawn shade tree close to the house." 

 William Brewster's (1881) first set of eggs of this owl was taken from 

 an artificial nest made from a section of a hollow trunk, boarded up 

 at the open ends, with an entrance hole cut in the side, and nailed 

 up in the woods. "No nest was made, the eggs being simply laid 

 on a few leaves which squirrels had taken in during the winter." 



Lewis Mel. Terrill (1931) says of a nest he found in the Montreal 

 district: 



The nesting locality of the Saw-whet Owl was by the bank of a stream draining 

 an upland pine wood and the nest was barely twenty feet from the ground in an 

 old cavity in the decayed top of a basswood stub, in the deep shade of surrounding 

 saplings. It is probable that a Flicker was responsible for the excavation, but 

 the entrance had become enlarged and ragged through decay and bore little 

 semblance to the neatly chiselled nesting place of that bird [pi. 60]. 



The Owl very considerately appeared at the entrance as I approached and when 

 I reached the cavity it merely flew to a sapling six feet distant and stared at me 

 without other demonstration while I examined the single fresh egg, resting on 

 chips of rotten wood, ten inches below the opening. Almost as soon as I had 



