2 86 General Notes. TJu'v 



Habits of the Barred Owl. — The first paragraph of the interesting ar- 

 ticle by Mr. Bolles in the April number of 'The Auk,' would leave the gen- 

 eral reader under the impression that the Barred Owl {Syrnium ucbulosum) 

 defends its nest and young by attacking the intruder. My own experience 

 would lead me to conclude that it is a very timid bird. I have collected 

 many sets of their eggs, and have frequently climbed to the nests to ex- 

 amine their young, and in no case have I ever been attacked by the parent 

 birds. They usually fly away at the approach of the collector, and re- 

 main away until he leaves the vicinity. If the nest contains young, they 

 make demonstrations of cries and snapping of bills from the safe shelter 

 of a neighboring tree. 1 have known them to fly toward me snapping 

 their beaks, until within a few yards, but they were careful not to come 

 very near. I have never been atttacked or seen other persons attacked \>y 

 any species of Owl in defense of its nest, except when the Owls were 

 in confinement. I once experienced great difficulty in getting a set of 

 eggs from a cage containing three Great Horned Owls. — D. E. Lantz, 

 Manhattan, Kansas. 



Phalaenoptilus nuttalli nitidus Breeding in Kansas. Is it a Valid Race 

 or a Color Phase of P. nuttalli ? — Since the publication of the A. O. U. 

 Check-List, two varieties of the Poor-will have been added to the the list, 

 the Frosted and Dusky. Of the latter I have no personal knowledge. Its 

 habitat — as given by the describer — is different from that of the Frosted, 

 and if constant in the coloration of its plumage, it is doubtless a valid 

 race. The home of the Frosted Poor-will, however, as far as known, is 

 about the same as that of the Poor-will, and the few specimens of each 

 that I have examined do not differ materially in size, and I am impressed 

 with the thought that it is possible the Frosted may prove to be a dichro- 

 matic phase, similar to the case of the Screech Owl {Megascops asioi), and 

 not a bleached race, as it is now regarded. I therefore call attention to the 

 matter. But, be that as it may, it now stands as a distinct race, and so 

 anything relating to its nesting habits will be of interest. I therefo-e 

 take please in saying that Mr. Eben M. Blachly, of Leonardville, Riley 

 County, Kansas, kindly loaned me for identification a set of eggs, to- 

 gether with the skin of one of the parent birds (I regret that he did not 

 capture its mate), which proved to be of this variety. The bird and eggs 

 were collected in the vicinity of Leonardville, June 26, 1SS9. The eggs 

 two in number, were laid upon the bare ground, under a bunch of grass, 

 upon the prairie, near the edge of a cornfield. In color they are while. 

 In form they are oval or rounded elliptical, the small end nearly as obtuse 

 as the larger. They measure 1.05 X.79, and 1.03 X.7S. They do not differ 

 from the eggs of the Poor-will ; this, however, would be expected, for even 

 if the former is a valid race, the eggs might be expected to be alike. — N. 

 S. Goss, Topeka, Kansas. 



Food and Habits of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. — On June 5, 

 tSSS, I secured a nest, containing one young bird and an egg on the 

 point of hatching, of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. The nest is a 



