4 
rare. I have heard of one or two, 
and found one of that number 
myself. Did Mr. Ormsbee ever 
take or find a set of eight? If he 
never did, on whose authority does 
he credit the Phoebe with laying 
eight eggs? I never heard of a 
set of that number. And did he 
never find a set of four? He states 
that the Phoebe builds where 
neither wind or rain, nor the rays 
of the sun can reach the nest. 
How was his nest “on top of a 
post about six feet from the 
ground” protected in this manner? 
Now, a word to amateur oolo- 
THE NATURALIST . 
most decidedly necessary in every 
sense of the term. A good oolo- 
gist’s motto would be: 
“Whatever is worth doing at all, 
is worth doing well.’’ 
Yours in Oology, 
AMICUS AVIUM. 
The Burrowing Owl 
HE Burrowing Owl, made 
familiar with a great many 
by the understanding of its living 
in burrows and holes in the ground 
with prairie dogs and rattlesnakes, 
is quite common in most localities. 
gists like myself. Remember 
oe». 
77 
a*s 
GAN 2ee' 
BURROWING OWL. 
notes and studies on common 
species are as valuable as on the 
rarer ones. A certain well-known 
oologist sent me some notes on a 
bird, stating that they were not as 
full as I would like, he presumed, 
but the species being so common 
he had not thought it necessary to 
pay much attention to it. Well, 
my friends, it is not necessary if 
you are collecting for amusement, 
but if you are studying the birds 
to get some good out of it yourself, 
and to be of use in the world, it is 
They usually congregate in large 
companies, breeding in old de- 
serted holes and burrows made by. 
prairie dogs, gophers, etc. There 
is, however, no truth in the state- 
ment made by many persons, say- 
ing that the owls, prairie dogs and 
rattlesnakes dwell together in the 
same hole and live in peace, for 
if the rattlesnake chose to make his 
home in the hole of either the. 
prairie dog or owl, the former, oc- 
