fHE OOLOGISt 



69 



American Hawk Owl on Nesting Stub. — Photo by A. D. Henderson 



Nesting of the American Hawk Owl 

 The American Hawk owl is not an 

 uncommon resident in the vicinity of 

 B e 1 V id e r e Alberta, though some 

 seasons they seem more numerous 

 than others, depending perhaps on the 

 food supply. Numbers are killed by 

 imitation sportsmen and settlers' boys 

 as they make a good mark for a 22 

 rifle. This is a pity as they are inter- 

 esting and useful little birds. 



The egg collectors seem to have a 

 bad name with the wise and learned 

 men ?) who frame our game laws, but 

 I would be willing to bet that one 

 sportsman, or one pet cat or a bird 

 dog running loose in the breeding 



season will destroy more bird life 

 than twenty average collecting oolo- 

 gists. I have collected eggs here for 

 three years and in that time did not 

 shoot half a dozen birds for identifica- 

 tion purposes. As for the eggs taken, 

 every collector knows that when a set 

 of eggs is taken most birds, by a wise 

 provision of nature are still able to 

 lay a second, or even a third set and 

 raise a brood just the same. How- 

 ever, as long as our bird and game 

 laws are made by men whose knowl- 

 edge of woodcraft would hardly enable 

 them to tell a muskrat from a beaver, 

 or a crow from a black bird the col- 

 lector will be up against harsh and al- 



