488 



THE BURROWING OWL. 



headless snakes litter the tloor. and invite the offices of the far-venturing 

 blow-fly. Fleas usually abound; and altogether the nuptial chamber of this 

 doughty troglodyte is not an inviting place. 



From six to eleven }-oung are raised in a single l)rood; and when we 

 consider that the adults themselves retiuire more than their own weight of 

 animal food dail\ , we begin to form some conception of the economic im- 

 portance of these birds. Their food includes all the baneful rout of rodents, 



and they are able to 

 kill "ground squir- 

 rels" of a size equal 

 to their own. Be- 

 sides these, lizards, 

 frogs, snakes, and 

 even small fish, are 

 captured. Grasshop- 

 ])ers and crickets, as 

 well as beetles of 

 m a n y sorts, are 

 .staple food, and for 

 these the bird hunts 

 by day as well as by 

 night. In the pur- 

 suit of jirey, how- 

 ever, the birds be- 

 come much more 

 a c t i \- e at sunset, 

 when they may be 

 seen flitting about 

 on noiseless wing, or 

 else ho\"ering in mid air abo\"e a sus])ected spot, after the well known fashion 

 of the Sparrow Hawk. Small game is snatched from the ground without 

 lighting, hut in ca])turing a ground squirrel, the bird first plants his talons 

 in the back, then breaks the creature's neck b)- sharp quick blows of the 

 beak. Soberlv regarding the special situation of the East-side rancher, T 

 .should say that the Burrowing Owl is his best ally among birds, and that he 

 who wantonlv destroys one should be classed with the man who tramples a 

 field of grain or sets fire to a haystack. 



Whenever fond is plenty and the ground inviting. Burrowing Owls are 

 likely to form little colonies, ten nr a dozen pairs being found in a stretch 

 of two or three acres. The\ ap])ear to be peaceably disposed toward each 

 other, and mates are notably faithful. Soon after the return in spring, which 

 occurs during the first week in March for the southern part of the State, and 



Taken in ll'alla Walla Cainily. 



Photo by the Author. 



THE END OF THE BURROW. 



THE EGGS ARE THOSE OF PRECEDING ILLUSTRATION. 



