SAW-WHET OWL 233 



A rasping, sibilant call, heard from the nest after dark, was presum- 

 ably the hunger call of the nestlings, and might be expressed thus— 

 t-z-z-z-z-z-z-z. This call soon brought one of the parents which voiced 

 its anger, or distress, in a very similar manner, though more insistently 

 as it flew back and forth near the nest, even brushing me with its 

 wings occasionally. This hissing might best be likened to the sound 

 made by jets of steam escaping from a small nozzle." 



Plumages.- — When first hatched the young saw-whet owl is clothed 

 in white down, which is worn for probably the first ten days or two 

 weeks. This down then begins to be pushed out and replaced grad- 

 ually by the juvenal, soft, downy plumage, which is not complete 

 until the young bird is about four weeks old or older; between the 

 ages of three and four weeks the tips of the first down are wearing off 

 and the wings are growing rapidly, so that the young bird will soon be 

 able to fly. 



In the full juvenal plumage the young saw- whet is a beautiful 

 creature, a really lovely little owl. The upper parts are deep rich 

 browns, "auburn" on the head and hind neck, shading off to a paler 

 shade of the same color on the upper breast and to "Mars brown" on 

 the back and wings; the plumage of the head is particularly full and 

 fluffy, making it seem over large; the facial disks are "Mars brown", 

 and there is a large, conspicuous, white, V-shaped patch extending 

 from the base of the bill up over the eyes ; the middle and lower breast 

 is "ochraceous-buff", shading off to "warm buff" posteriorly; the 

 wings and tail are as in the adult. 



This plumage is worn well into, or entirely through, the summer, de- 

 pending on when the bird was hatched, when a complete molt of the 

 contour plumage takes place, producing the first winter plumage, 

 which is practically adult. I have seen this molt well advanced on 

 July 25 and only just beginning on September 3; the molt begins in 

 the face and on the under parts. Adults apparently have one com- 

 plete annual molt from August to November. 



Food. — The food of the saw-whet owl consists mainly of mice, 

 especially woodland mice, small rats, young red and flying squirrels, 

 chipmunks, shrews, bats, and other small mammals. A few small 

 birds, such as sparrows, juncos, and warblers, have been recorded in 

 its food; and a few insects are occasionally eaten. Dr. A. K. Fisher 

 (1893b) reports that "of 22 stomachs examined, 17 contained mice; 

 1, a bird; 1, an insect; and 3 were empty." He also says: "In winter 

 Mr. Comeau once saw one of these little owls fly from the carcass of 

 a great northern hare that had been caught in a snare. The owl had 

 eaten away the abdomen and was at work within the thoracic cavity 

 when frightened away." 



13751—38 1G 



