THE BURROWING OWL. 487 
their face and roll their eyes about in the most mysterious manner, gesticulat- 
ing wildly, every now and then bending forward till the breast almost touches 
the ground, to propound the argument with more telling effect. Then they 
face about to address the rear, that all alike may feel the force of their logic; 
they draw themselves up to their fullest height, outwardly calm and self- 
contained, pausing in the discourse to note its effect upon the audience, and 
collect their wits for the next rhetorical flourish. And no distant likeness 
between these frothy orators and others is found in the celerity with which 
they subside and 
seek their holes on 
the slightest inti- 
mation of danger.” 
These curious 
Owls are alone 
among land birds 
in their choice of 
subterranean dwell- 
ings. On the Great 
Plains they avail 
themselves largely 
of deserted prairie 
dog holes, but in 
Washington — their 
choice lies between 
“oround — squirrel” 
and badger holes, if 
in the open sage; 
but it is limited to 
gopher holes if in 
the close - cropped 
pasture land, which is an equal favorite. It is probable that the Burrowing 
Owl does not originate burrows, altho in the case of the smaller rodents the 
tunnels require to be enlarged. This the bird does, not with its beak, but with 
the powerful claws, loosening the dirt and kicking it backward by successive 
stages until it is ejected at the entrance. A typical burrow may descend 
sharply three or four feet, then bend and rise slightly until an ample nesting 
chamber, a foot or more in width and six inches deep, is reached. 
Taken in Walla 
Walla County. 
Photo by the Author. 
NO BASY DASK 
EGGS OF BURROWING OWL EXPOSED AT END OF TUNNEL NINE FEET IN LENGTH. 
The nesting cavity is lined heavily with dried horse-dung, torn to feathery 
shreds and spread evenly. The tunnel has more or less of the same material 
scattered thruout its length, and a certain amount distributed over the external 
mound is a necessary evidence of occupation. One need not kill these Owls 
to learn what they feed on, for half-eaten mice, dismembered frogs, and 
