476 



THE MACFARLANE SCREECH OWL. 



but alter incuha- 

 tifin commenced 

 llic birds became 

 silent. The eggs 

 were noted as be- 

 ing chiefly o\al 

 in sliajje. but in 

 c ,'i |i a c i t y nearly 

 ci|nal li> those of 

 the Long - eared 

 ( )\vl. 



"All the nests 

 found near Walla 

 Walla, Washing- 

 ton, were placed 

 in natural ca\-ities 

 in c o t t o n w o o d 

 trees, from fifteen 

 to twenty feet 

 frcim the ground, 

 and inxariably near 

 water. In two of 

 the holes occu]>ied 

 by them I found 

 trout from si.\ \o 

 eight inches lung 

 and a small wdiite- 

 fish tC rcgoniis 

 i^'illianisdiiii) about 

 ten inches long. 

 It still puzzles me 

 to know how they 

 manage to catch 

 such active fish but beliexe that where (ibt;iinable. these as well as frogs form 

 no inconsiderable portion of their daily fare, while the smaller rodents and 

 grasshoppers form the remainder. T (\i) nm believe it catches birds to any 

 extent, ;in(l nnisl be considered an eminenih- useful species."" 



Token ill On' 



Photo by A. IV. Anthony. 

 JI.\CF.\RI..\i\E'S SCREECn OW I.. 



a. Bendire, Life Histories of N. A. Birds, \'ol. I., p. 372. 



