The Barred Owl has been until the last year quite common. I former- 

 ly knew of six pairs within a radius of seven miles of Nebraska City on the 

 west side of the river, but this season I was unable to locate a sing^le nest, 

 althoug-h I saw three pairs of birds. The reason for this was that all the 

 old trees, containing- the cavities in which they formerly bred, had been 

 cut down and the birds compelled to seek new locations, and as I had no 

 time to look for them they were not found. 



The Barred Owl in this section always lays its egg^ in a natural cavity 

 of a tree, while the Great Horned Owl nearly always lays in open nests. 

 Their food consists of squirrels, rabbits and other smaller rodents. The 

 breeding- commences about the middle of March unless the season is un- 

 commonly late. On March 23d, 1897, I collected three sets in tjne day, all 

 partly incubated — one set of two, one of three, and one of four eggs. The 

 average number of eg-gs is three, rarely four. The nest is made by scratch- 

 ing up some of the rotten wood which forms the bottom of the cavit}', and 

 putting a few feathers on top of it. Sometimes there is no attempt at nest- 

 making- whatever, while again there will be quite an elaborate nest of 

 leaves and feathers. This species, tog-ether with Biido virginiaiiiis, inhab- 

 its almost exclusively' the heavy timber skirting the Missouri River. 



Lastly, the Great Horned Owl completes my list of the breeding Rap- 

 tores of Otoe Co., Neb. This is a most interesting- bird to me, because I 

 have had occasion to observe its ways more than those of any other Owl. 

 Until 1898 it was practically unknown to me, but on March 30, 1898, I col- 

 lected my first set of their egg-s. The two eggs were badly incubated, and 

 were probably a second set, as on March 28, 1899, I found that a pair that I 

 had robbed had a second set of two eg-gs. Contrary to later observations 

 this first nest was in a very exposed position, being- in a larg-e cottonwood 

 tree about four hundred yards from any other trees. The nest was a bul- 

 ky affair, probably an old nest of Buteo borealis repaired somewhat aiid 

 lined with grass and feathers and some bark shreds. 



Feb. 18, 1899, I collected a set of three eggs from a well-built nest in a 

 larg-e black oak tree, growing in a ravine amongst the bluffs. The eggs 

 were partly incubated, showing that they must have been deposited at 

 least ten days before, making the date for laying probably Feb. 8. March 

 4 I secured a set of two fresh eggs from another pair, and on March 8 found 

 a nest with two newly hatched birds, apparently about five days old. The 

 nest contained, besides the young owls, the hind quarters of a rabbit and 

 a full-grown rat. On April 2nd, 1898, I found two nests with nearly fledged 

 young, one nest containing two and the other three. When I climbed to one 

 of the nests the female attacked me so suddenly and unexpectedly as to 

 almost make me lose my hold on the tree. I had just time to throw my 

 g-loved hand before my face when she struck it with terrific force, tearing 

 the glove and severely lacerating \\\y hand with her sharp claws. Before 

 she could repeat the dose I manag-ed to scramble up among the limbs, where 

 I was comparatively safe from her attacks. The young in the nest were 

 as savage as their parents, throwing their wings forward and snapping- 

 and hissing at the intruder like little demons. I took two and kept them 

 about four months, when one escaped, and the other became so unbearably 



