128 



THE OSPREY 



of the cock had been clustered directly about the nest, 

 which fact, taken in connection with the late date and 

 fresh condition of the eggs in the nest, makes it a fair 

 inference that the first brood had, upon hatching, been 

 promptly turned over to the cock while the female 

 proceeded to deposit and incubate a second set. This 

 accords with the testimony cited by Bendire in his 

 'Life Histories,' to the effect that this species occa- 

 sionally raises two broods in a season. 



I must not omit mention of a Mallard nesting fifteen 



feet up in a tree at the water's edge, making use of a 

 veritable Hawk's nest, possibly abandoned, but at 

 any rate containing, among the comparatively-fresh 

 dozen Duck's eggs, a genuine egg of the Swainson's 

 Hawk on the point of hatching. My informant, who 

 is well posted and thoroughly reliable, climbed to the 

 nest while the duck was setting, but knows nothing 

 of the manner in which the young ducks were trans- 

 ported to the water, nor what was the ultimate fate 

 of the occupant of the hawk's egg. 



THE FERRUGINOUS PYGMY OWL. 



GEO. 



BRENINGER. 



THE Ferruginous Pygmy Owl is one of the small- fell some thirty or forty yards off. The shot did not 



est of North American Owls, and while its dis- disturb the owl in the least. After securing the game 



covery dates back many years yet up to the I threw it beneath the owl ; its eyes were at once 



present time very little is known of this diminutive turned groundward, and its gaze upon the lifeless 



species. Its habitat is 

 tropical North America, 

 extending up to Southern 

 Arizona and Texas. Al- 

 though small in body it is 

 by no means small in 

 fighting capacity, often 

 attacking and bringing to 

 the ground birds whose 

 weight would equal and 

 often exceed that of the 

 Owl. Unlike other mem- 

 bers of the Owl family 

 this species feeds largely 

 during the daytime. I 

 have had them pounce 

 down upon and carry 

 away wounded birds as 

 large as robins. 



Among the growth of 

 Cottonwood that fringes 

 the Gila and Salt rivers of 

 Arizona this Owl is of 

 common occurrence. 

 They can be seen perched 

 out on some exposed situ- 

 ation surveying the 

 ground beneath, and 

 nothing seems to pass un- 



V 



FERRUGINOUS PYGMY OWL. 

 PHOTOGRAPH FROM LIFE. BY GEO. F. BRENINGER. 



form of the quail was so 

 intent that I succeeded in 

 climbing to within five 

 feet of the bird before its 

 eyes were turned toward 

 me; then, with a few er- 

 ratic jerks of its tail, it 

 flew to another tree where 

 it soon called up its mate. 



Its nest is usually an 

 abandoned woodpecker's 

 hole, which is used from 

 year to year. No lining 

 is used, and the three or 

 four white spherical eggs 

 are laid upon the bottom 

 of the cavity, without any 

 material being added 

 either for the comfort of 

 the setting bird or for the 

 fledglings. 



Nidification in this val- 

 ley usually takes place 

 about the 20th of April. 

 During the winter months 

 as well as early spring 

 the tawny coloring of 



noticed. With eyes that never sleep and pluck that the tail and upper parts is very prominent; but with 



never diminishes until death, it is a formidable foe the approach of summer the entire plumage becomes 



even to the large rodents that burrow in the sands and worn and bleached. 



alluvial deposits of the river bottoms. In more recent years, and since trees planted by 



Not long since I came upon a single individual man have become large enough to afford nestmg sites 



seated upon a leafless limb of a cottonwood tree. Be- for woodpeckers, this Owl has gradually worked its 



ing prompted to learn how close an approach the owl way from the natural growth of timber bordering the 



would allow without seeking other quarters, I came rivers to that bordering the banks of irrigating canals, 



within a few feet of being directly beneath the bird until now it can be found in places ten miles from the 



when a quail flew up near my feet. With a hunter's rivers. I have never known it to use holes in giant 



instinct my gun came to my shoulder and the quail cacti as does the little Elf Owl. 



