308 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE YOSEMITE 



were twenty or more of these feathers, broad rusty striped ones from the 

 under surface of the owl, and cinnamon brown ones from the back. In 

 fact, the bulk of the inner lining of the nest cavity consisted of these 

 feathers, of unmistakable identity. 



What else could we infer but that a Saw-whet Owl had met with some 

 mishap within the radius in which the kinglets had done their scouting 

 for suitable nesting material? The feathers were full-fluffed, not in the 

 least bedraggled ; this would seem to prove that they had not been exposed 

 to wet weather. The accident that made them available to the kinglets 

 must have occurred recently, after the heavy rains of early spring. 



Upon visiting Yosemite Valley in May, 1919, we found a specimen of 

 the Saw-whet Owl mounted in the Park Superintendent's office. Inquiry 

 developed that Mrs. Jack Gaylor, a resident in the Valley, had killed three 

 of these owls at different times during the period between 1916 and 1919, 

 and that the bird mounted was one of these. She had "knocked them 

 over with a stick," two, when she discovered them perched on crossbeams 

 under a shed roof, and a third, when she found it in the granary of her 

 barn. The exact dates of these occurrences had not been kept. One 

 individual was seen during the middle of the day while being bothered 

 by a number of Sierra Juncos in Yosemite Valley on August 26, 1920 

 (C. W. Michael, MS). 



On July 13, 1920, the dried remains of a Saw-whet Owl were found in 

 the fire box of a rusty engine boiler at a deserted mine, one mile south 

 of Dudley. 



Thus the circumstantial evidence of 1915 indicating the occurrence of 

 the Saw-whet Owl in the Yosemite region was fully corroborated by 

 facts collected later. The birds may be present regularly in parts of the 

 region, though hardly in large numbers. Like other nocturnal animals 

 they could easily have escaped our eyes, and even our ears. Some one 

 more fortunate than we will find them. 



Southern California Screech Owl. Otus asio quercinus Grinnell 



Field characters. — Size small for an owl (length about 9 inches) ; head with con- 

 spicuous ear tufts (fig. 39&) ; whole plumage streaked with dark and light gray, in 

 general effect resembling the bark of an oak tree; eyes yellow. Voice: A series of 

 low-toned, mellow notes uttered in a rapid series, with diminishing intervals; also single 

 soft clucking notes, especially when adults and young are foraging together. 



Occurrence. — Rare resident of foothill belt on west slope of Sierra Nevada (Upper 

 Sonoran and lower part of Transition zones). Frequents live oaks and golden oaks. 



In our experience with the Southern California Screech Owl elsewhere 

 in the State we have come to associate it in our minds with the live oak 

 belt. Where live oaks occur there we expect to find this owl common. 



