THE LONG-EARED OWL. 401 
straight upward and remain motionless. In this position the resemblance 
to the stub of a broken limb is remarkable.” 
In my experience of these birds in Yakima, Benton, Chelan, and Okano- 
gan Counties, deserted nests of the Magpie or Crow were invariably used by 
the Owls, and then only those to be found at moderate heights in swamp- 
willow thickets or groves of quaking asp. April is the nesting month and 
April 1oth is the 
date for fresh 
eggs, but others, 
possibly second 
sets, have been 
taken in June. 
The eggs, from 
four to six in 
number, are 
normally of a 
delicate clear 
white, but they 
soon become 
nest-stained and 
are often blood- 
marked. Both 
parents are usu- 
ally at home and 
actively interest- 
ed in their nest. 
One instance will 
suffice. Having 
sighted a likely 
looking Crow’s 
nest about ten 
feet up in a wil- 
low clump of a 
swamp bordering 
Lake Chelan, I 
made towards it. 
Upon my ap- 
proach an Owl 
slipped noiseless- 
ly from the nest 
and left me to Taken in Benton County. Photo by the Author. 
plan the ascent A NESTING SITE OF THE LONG-EARED OWL 
