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70 PACIFIC COAST AVIFAUNA No. 14 



l;35. Bubo virginianus pallescens Stone 



Western Horned Owl 



A common ])(>r'manent resident thronghont the stat(\ exee[)t perhaps the 

 northwestern part, where it is pr()hal)ly i-ephieed, in thr mountains at h'ast. by 

 saturaius. This s[)eeies ranges over prairies, valleys antl mountains, hut it is 

 decidedly commoner in the prairies and valleys. It is l)ecoming rare in the 

 more thickly settled regions. Nearly all ol)servers record it. 



This species nests early in the year. Twa sets, of three and fonr eggs, re- 

 spectively, were taken at Lewistown, March 16, 1900 (Silloway, lOOld, pp. 97- 

 98), and a second set of two eggs, on April 18, 1900 (Silloway, 190;}a, i)p. :M-35). 

 Young on the wing were noted at Choteau in ^lay, 1012 (Saunders, IDl-ta, p. 

 1.T2). 



l;J6. Bubo virginianus subarcticus Hoy 



Arctic Horned Owl 



A rare winter visitor thronghont the state. Of twenty-eight birds from 

 Foi-t Custer in the winter of 188-4-85, two approached this form (Bendire, 1892, 

 pp. 385 and 387). Thorne records this subspecies as common at Fort Keogh, 

 adding the statement that some breed (1895, p. 214), which seems extremely 

 donbtful. A specimen taken at Miles City, January 15, 1900 (Hedges, coll. 

 Ctniv. Mont.). A very rare winter visitor in the Bitterroot Valley. Two at Cor- 

 vallis in the winter of 1907-08 (Bailey, ^IS). This last is the only record from 

 the western part of the state. 



137. Bubo virginianus saturatus Ridgway 



Dusky Horned Owl 



Found regularly in the mountains about Kalispell, wliei'e it is a pei-manent 

 resident. ^Ir. H. P. Stanford has mounted a, number of specimens. It is prob- 

 ably the regular form in the northwestern part of the state, at least in the moun- 

 tains, but data on which to determine this with certainty are lacking. Flathead 

 l^ake specimens are listed as pallescenH (Silloway, 1901a, ])p. 48-49), and the 

 horned owl which is a common resident in the Bitterroot Valley (Bailey, MS) 

 has not been identified as to subspecies. 



138. Nyctea nyctea (Lirnuieus) 



SN()W^■ Owl 



An erratic and usually rare winter visitor, occurring throughout the state. 

 This species has been recorded by nearly all observers whose work covers periods 

 in the winter. It is fourul chiefly in the valleys ami (,n the pi'airies. Silloway 

 states that it occurs fr-om the first of XovemlxM- to early March (;l9()3a, p. 35). 

 The only other dates to indicate the time of ils migrations are October 2(i, 1908, 

 in Tom Minor Basin. Park County, and October 14. 1!M7, at Kalispell (Sloan- 

 aker, MS). 



