6 



THE OOLOQIST 



This completed my takings of Owls' 

 eggs for the season. 



The American Hawk Owl is also a 

 breeder in this vicinity ,but I was un- 

 able to locate a nest this season. It s 

 peculiar call or whistle, which I sui)- 

 pose is its love note, can be hear.l 

 the first mild evenings in the early 

 spring and often during the day, usual 

 ly while he is perched on some stub 

 in or near a muskeg. 



It is rather curious that 1 started 

 to write this article yesterday and to- 

 day THE OOLOGIST of January loth 

 arrived, containing the interesting re- 

 marks of the editor on the Great Gray 

 Om^I's nest taken in Alaska by Lieuten- 

 ant Eastman. 



I have not been able to get much 

 information as to the nesting of this 

 owl from my literature on the subject 

 which I have had access to and it 

 seems my experiences with it have 

 been rather unique. 



A. D. Henderson. 



Nesting of the Western Horned Owl 



In Central Alberta. 



(Bubo Virginianus Pallescens.) 



The Western Horned Owl is an old- 

 timer in Manitoba. It was here, with 

 the moose and elk, long before a white 

 man ever arrived here with his gun 

 and rattling machinery, to put discord 

 into the great harmony of Mother Na- 

 ture. Even now, in this northern part 

 of the province, one feels as if the 

 night were not perfect without the 

 familiar "who, hoo" of this giant rap- 

 tor. And as rabbits here are so plen- 

 tiful, that they are almost a pest to 

 the homesteader, the chances of com- 

 fortable living for this owl are good 

 for many years to come. 



While tramping through the poplar 

 woods late in the fall of 1913, I lo- 

 cated several old hawk's nests, that 

 looked to be a "pretty good thing." 

 "If we don't get some Horned Owl's 



eggs from some of these nests next 

 March," I said to my mate and neigh- 

 bor, Mr. John Puspanen, "I am awfully 

 much mistaken." 



ihe largest one of these nests was 

 about two miles west from my home. 

 I decided to visit this one first. Early 

 cne morning (16th of March, 1914), 

 I started on my skis across the lake 

 and meadows to this bulky structure, 

 which was at the top of a thick, but 

 short, white poplar. The nest was 

 only about 30 feet up. What a cinch, 

 when compared with some of the trees 

 that one had to climb in Ontario, 

 when hunting tor the eggs of the 

 Great Eastern Horned Owl! The tree 

 was about 100 yards from the edge of 

 a large slough. The thermometer reg- 

 istered several degrees below zero and 

 there was fully two feet of snow in 

 the bush. When I got to the edge of 

 the leafless winter woods and headed 

 my skis direct towards the nest, I 

 was certainly very much surprised to 

 see the old owl in the nest, its ears 

 standing on their ends. Half a min- 

 ute more and she was standing in the 

 nest, looking at the intruder who was 

 coming to dislurb her peace. Off she 

 tlew, before I was within a gunshot 

 and she kept at a respectable distance 

 all the while I was up at the nest, 

 rier mate soon put in an appearance 

 and more than once they were asking 

 each other in plain English "who" the 

 impertinent intruder could be. When 

 I looked in the nest, I nearly had a 

 fit, so surprised I was, for in place of 

 the commcn set of two, there laid 

 before me a beautiful set of four white 

 eggs. The incubation had just be- 

 gun. The average size of the eggs in 

 this set is 2.24x1.85. 



Just six weeks later I visited this 

 nest again and took from it a beauti- 

 ful set cf three of the Red-tailed Hawk. 

 This gees to show that the Red-tail 

 was the original owner and builder 



