24 Wayne, Breeding Season of the Barn Owl in S. Carolina. {_fan 



work" (Ornithological Biography), I naturally inferred that he 

 was not acquainted with the breeding habits of this Owl and 

 hoped to establish a record, when it occurred to me that I had 

 read, when a youth, in the latter work a long account of the breed- 

 ing of this species and recalled the month in which the eggs were 

 laid. A letter was sent to Mrs. White on September 17, 1907, with 

 the request that the mill be searched for eggs. On September 19, 

 her son, Master Thomas Porcher White, succeeded in finding six 

 eggs. Upon the reception of the eggs I observed that they were 

 all laid at irregular intervals of five to twelve days, as one egg 

 contained a very large embryo, another about one half incubated, 

 a third had a well-formed embryo, while the others were in lesser 

 stages of development. The first egg must have been laid not 

 later than September 5, as it undoubtedly had been incubated for 

 at least fourteen days. 



Much credit is due young White for his untiring efforts in my 

 behalf in order that the normal season should be definitely estab- 

 lished. 



That this species should breed in South Carolina in September 

 is indeed remarkable, for according to Davie (Nests and Eggs of 

 North American Birds, p. 191), it breeds in southern Florida in 

 March, while in the region of Los Angeles, California (Lat. 34°), 

 the breeding season extends from April until the last of June. 



As no mention is made of the breeding of this owl in the States 

 of Florida and California during the autumnal months, the spring 

 must therefore be considered the regular season in which it breeds, 

 unless it annually rears two broods, and if such proves to be the case 

 the birds may be autumnal breeders in those States. The reason 

 this species breeds in September in the low coast region of South 

 Carolina is doubtless due to the fact that the food supply, which 

 consists of small mammals, is more abundant and more easily 

 procured during the autumnal and early winter months than in 

 late winter and spring. 



Since the above was written I found an account of the breeding 

 of this owl by Mr. R. W. Williams, Jr., in 'The Auk,' XIX, 1902, 

 p. 198, wherein he states that a set comprising five eggs was found 

 on December 12. These observations were made at Tallahassee, 

 which is in the northwestern part of Florida and near the Georgia 

 line. 



