A First Glance at the Birds, 



The pygmy and elf owls are two very 

 remarkable western forms, being but 

 little larger than a chunky sparrow. 

 They are without the ear tufts, character- 

 istic of so many owls, and fly about by 

 day quite as much as at night. The 

 little California pygmy owl is common 

 in the more mountainous parts of the 

 state. Its back is reddish brown, dot- 

 ted with fine white spots, and the breast 

 is white, banded and streaked with the 

 color of the back. 



We come next to the so-called 

 Picarian birds, which have been a stum- 

 bling block to ornithologists for many 

 years. The most common type of land 

 bird, of course, has three toes in front 

 and one behind. I may also add that 

 the so-called leg is only the foot greatly 

 elongated, and that the knee is gener- 

 ally concealed among the feathers of 

 the body. Now in the groups which 

 next claim our attention the arrange- 

 ment of the toes is sometimes modi- 

 fied, two being directed forward and the 

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