430 BULLETIN 17 0, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



whistle of this owl is the greatest of all aids to the collector in the west. 

 An imitation of this, or the single call note, brings every small bird 

 right up to you, even from the tops of the gigantic firs. It also 

 brings up any Pygmy Owl that may be in the vicinity, and I once had 

 one of these come down and carry off an Olive-sided Flycatcher that 

 I had brought down from the treetops and shot." H. S. Swarth 

 (1912) observes that near Errington, in September, "that it was not 

 heard calling until September would seem to indicate that the call 

 note is not given very frequently during the summer months. The 

 notes were heard most often about dark, but also quite frequently 

 during the day." 



Enemies. — H. S. Swarth (1912) writes: "I was clambering over a 

 mass of windfall by the edge of a lake in the woods when the agitation 

 of some chickadees at the other end of the tangle attracted my atten- 

 tion. At first there was nothing to be seen, but finally a pigmy owl 

 flew out and lit on a nearby limb." 



GLAUCIDIUM GNOMA GRINNELLI Ridgway 



COAST PYGMY OWL 



HABITS 



Contributed by Milton Philo Skinner 



This form inhabits the humid coast district of California (north of 

 Monterey County), Oregon, Washington, British Columbia (except 

 Vancouver Island), and southeastern Alaska. It is described as 

 browner than the California pygmy, varying from deep snuff brown 

 to verona brown. Although its habits are much like the races already 

 described, any subspecies that lives in the heavy redwood, cedar, and 

 fir forests of the Pacific coast is almost sure to have striking charac- 

 teristics of its own. Where these giant trees occur, this little fellow is 

 so fond of them that it actually prefers to remain in the high foliage 

 and seldom comes down to the ground. This is particularly interesting 

 because the other forms notably prefer the lower foliage of trees and 

 bushes. 



Nesting. — H. W. Carriger (1895) describes four nests from north- 

 western California, somewhat east of the heavy coast forests. All 

 were in white oak trees — three in the main trunks, 14 to 20 feet above 

 ground, while the fourth was in a branch 25 feet above ground. 

 Though Mr. Carriger does not say so, it seems likely that these were 

 old woodpecker holes, 2 to 3 inches in diameter. Upon examination 

 the cavities were all found to be about 6 inches inside diameter, but 

 varied from 5 to 18 inches in depth. No nesting material was found 

 in any of the cavities, but the bottom of the deepest "was well filled 

 with bones and pieces of beetles' wings, which goes to show that it 

 had probably been used in previous years" as well, The adult birds 





