1923 BIRDS OF THE SANTA RITA MOUNTAINS 19 



Otus asio gilmani. Sahuaro Screech Owl 



One was shot by Howell, July 30, 1918, at 5,000 feet in Madera Canyon, 

 "at dusk, as it lit on a sycamore stub below camp." The quavering cry was 

 frequently heard near our tent on winter evenings, and on March 9 and 11, 

 1921, two were heard answering each other. One was found by Bailey on 

 March 9, 1921, in a cottonwood stub on the bank of the Santa Cruz River. 

 The pellets taken from the cavity contained bones of wood rat, kangaroo rats, 

 pocket mice, deer mice, and a grasshopper mouse, the skull of one young 

 Neotoma albigula, numerous jaws and bones of Perodipus ordii and Dipodomys 

 merriami, together with a few jaws of Perognathus eremicus, Peromysciis ere- 

 micus and sonoriensis, and OnycJiomys torridvs. The same day the head of an- 

 other Sahuaro Screech Owl was seen framed in a hole of a sahuaro, or giant 

 cactus, on the mountain road above Continental, and at dusk the little owl was 

 seen starting out on his nightly hunt. Two days later he was taken out of 

 his roosting hole, in which was the i^artly eaten body of a sparrow, and after 

 being photographed he was returned to finish his meal. 



Bubo virginianus pallescens. Western Horned Owl 



Frequently heard at night during the winter of 1920-1921, from our camp 

 near the Nicholson ranch-house. In dayliglit, one was flushed on December 

 2, from a gulch below 4,000 feet, and another, March 21, on the Range Re- 

 serve, from a mesquite disguisingly hung with large bunches of mistletoe. 



In Gardner Canyon, below the ranch, Taylor reports, a specimen was se- 

 cured by a trapper on February 10, 1923. 



Speotyto cunicularia hypogaea. Burrowing Owl 



One was seen by Dr. Charles T. Vorhies, of the University of Arizona, Oc- 

 tober 19, 1919, at the old wooden gate below McCleary's. 



Glaucidium gnoma pinicola. Rocky Mountain Pygmy Owl 



A specimen was taken by Little, Howell's assistant, August 13, 1918, *'in 

 the scrub oak at about 5,300 feet," in Madera Canyon. The little owl was 

 being mobbed by Bridled Titmice. 



Geococcyx calif ornianus. Roadrunner 



Seen occasionally by Swarth, in June, 1903. Found by Bailey in October, 

 1913, in the lower ends of the canyons, where its tracks were seen along the 

 trails. At Continental, August 15-19, 1918, Howell reports, a single bird "hung 

 around" his camp. Several were seen by us during the winter of 1921, below 

 4.500 feet, both in the mesquite and on stony cactus slopes. One which was 

 often seen near the cattle tanks, came familiarly to our tent for food from 

 January until the first week in March, when warm days brought out some of 

 the lizards. He would take small mammals thrown him, whether skinned or 



