272 BULLETIN" 17 0, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



of 5, one of 6 and one of 7. The set of 2 was a second clutch, the first set of 4 hav- 

 ing been taken 23 days previously to the date upon which the set of 2 was found in 

 which incubation was about a fourth advanced. The comparatively large number 

 of sets of three conveys a wrong impression, and is probably due to a little over- 

 anxiety to collect the eggs, not giving the parent sufficient time to complete the 

 clutch. I believe one in fifteen sets would be nearer the proper ratio of sets of 

 3 and 4. The set of 6 was laid by a particularly prolific female which had laid 

 sets of five on the two preceding years; while the set of seven I cannot account 

 for unless it was laid by two females, which is very improbable. This was found 

 May 30th, two birds were flushed from the cavity, and all seven eggs were addled. 



Major Bendire (1892) says: "The eggs of the Rocky Mountain 

 Screech Owl are pure white in color and moderately glossy; the shell 

 is smooth and finely granulated. In shape they vary from oval to 

 a broad elliptical oval, some being decidedly more elongated than any 

 other eggs of the genus Megascops I have seen." 



The measurements of 54 eggs average 36.3 by 30.2 millimeters; 

 the eggs showing the four extremes measure 39.1 by 32.1, 36.1 by 32, 

 30.9 by 30.7, and 35.7 by 27.9 millimeters. 



Young. — Bendire (1892) says: "In the latter part of June, before 

 they are well able to fly, they may be seen sitting side by side, perfectly 

 motionless, upon a limb close by the nest site. The young and their 

 parents seem to desert their holes and live among the trees for the 

 balance of the summer; but when the cold winds strip the leaves from 

 the trees in the fall suitable tree holes are selected for their winter 

 quarters." 



Plumages. — This race is supposed to be monochromatic, but Dr. 

 Louis B. Bishop writes to me that he has a specimen of this race in 

 the red phase, collected in Saskatchewan, which he and Dr. H. C. 

 Oberholser both agreed to identify as maxwelliae, though it is appar- 

 ently the only red specimen known. He says that the red phase 

 agrees with the gray phase in being very pale, with the facial disks, 

 tarsi, and toes white, and that the red is paler and slightly browner 

 than in the red phase of naevius from Connecticut. 



Food. — Major Bendire (1892) says that Mr. Anthony found "a 

 good many fish scales" in a nest of one of these owls, and that Deds 

 Gale found feathers of the mountain bluebird and several sparrows 

 in a nest. He quotes him as saying that the female, while incubating, 

 "is waited upon and fed by the male, who, being a skillful hunter, 

 provides liberally for her wants. Searching for nests I have some- 

 times discovered the male hidden in a tolerably well stocked larder, 

 in close proximity to the nest site. In one cache were portions of a 

 Bluebird, a mouse, and a frog; in another a Junco, a Tree Sparrow, 

 and a minnow 3% inches long; claws and legs of crawfish were also 

 present." 



Behavior. — He quotes Mr. Dale further as follows: 



Like others of their genus they seem to delight in a sheltered, shady location, 

 close to a pond or creek where they select a domicile, either in a natural tree hole 



