i'4 ,. .i. . ^wv.xv, .>i/<to ,,i.„< .Mu,u,(/(7y z *u<». listjan. 



the burrcnvs of the Prairie Marmot, or Prairie Dog (Cynomys). 

 It is a small species, but can hold its own with the marmots, and 

 no one will doubt that the Cave Owl would prove the master in 

 an encounter with a rabbit. I spent many hours sitting on the 

 rabbit earths on favourable nights, but only once saw an Owl. It 

 was cold work, and several times I was driven home by the sud- 

 den rising of the wind. Though I cannot be certain, I think the 

 Owl I saw had ilown directly from a burrow just behind me. 

 My attention was drawn to the bird by hearing the "swish" of 

 wings close at hand. Looking up, I could dimly see the form of 

 an Owl flying around in a short circle, and its shadow on the 

 ground was plainly visible. On other nights I tried to get within 

 sight of these Owls by following up their cries. Either they were 

 very wary, or very timid, for I never got near a calling bird. The 

 calls varied a little in tone, there being a higher and a lower note, 

 but I am not sure that the Unver note was not uttered by a Quail 

 (Turnix). I have often heard the Little Quail (7\ irlox) call 

 at night. It was fairly common on the plain. 



Not far from Haig was an abandoned water shaft, which had 

 been put down to a depth of 200 feet. This shaft was close- 

 timbered and furnished with a ladder held by staples to the tim- 

 bers. About 20 feet down, roosting on a rung of the ladder, I 

 discovered a Cave Owl. Its head was twisted right round as it 

 gazed upwards in my direction. I dropped one or two small pel- 

 lets of clay on its head in the hopes it would fly up the shaft, and 

 I might get a better look at it. It refused to move, so I climbed 

 down the ladder, thinking there might be some cavity, not visible 

 from above, where its mate was nesting. There was nothing, 

 and the Owl simply flew to the other side of the shaft, to which 

 it clung with its claws. On visiting this shaft again a week or 

 so later, I found no Owls there, but two or three bats were hang- 

 ing from the timber of the walls. Evidently the Owl I had seen 

 had no difficulty in finding another roosting place. Formerly 

 there had been a fettler's camj) near this water shaft, and I was 

 informed by several employees who lived there that Owls were 

 often seen and even perched on the ridge poles of the various 

 tents. On one occasion a young bird was found drowned in a 

 water tank. My informant was familiar with the call, and also 

 the snoring noise made by this species. 



Since my return home, Mr. A. Rees, the station-master at Haig, 

 has written that three young Owls and their parents had been 

 captured by a railway emi)loyec at the bottom of a small shaft 

 only 12 feet deej). This shaft lies some 12 miles or more to 

 the east of Haig. AX'hen the Owls were first noted, the female 

 was sitting on three eggs in a corner at the bottom of the shaft. 



At Loongana Owls formerly bred in the big cave some two 

 miles E.S.E. of the depot, but the cave has been so much visited 

 of late years that the Owls deserted it. At the depot itself a pair 

 roosted for some time on the steel trestle work supporting a large 

 feed tank. Despite the situation, they were very wary, and all 



