[350] BIRDS OF OREGON 



by us. The young (Plate 63), like those of all other owls, remain in the 

 nest for a comparatively long period and are fed a variety of small animals 

 and occasionally birds by the industrious parents. When an intruder 

 approaches the nest the adults usually show great concern and produce 

 an astonishing variety of noises. The bills are snapped rapidly, and a 

 medley of catcalls, hisses, and throaty wuk-wuk notes pours forth. The 

 anxious parents may dive at the intruder or sit on a nearby branch, with 

 feathers erect, scolding the disturber and threatening dire things. 



This owl is found sparingly in winter in western Oregon. Woodcock 

 (1902.) listed a number of specimens and localities, and Shelton (1917) 

 recorded it for Lane County. Pope reported taking eggs in 1894, pre- 

 sumably near Sheridan, to Woodcock (1901), the only indication we 

 have that the species might breed in western Oregon. 



In the fall and winter, numbers of these Long-eared Owls, together 

 with a few Short-eared Owls, often roost in willow thickets where the 

 mouse population furnishes an adequate diet. On November 17, 1930, on 

 the Malheur River, we flushed more than a dozen from a single willow 

 clump, the largest congregation of this species yet seen. All sorts of mice 

 with which the willow bottoms and sage-coated slopes abound are grist 

 to the digestive mill of this medium-sized owl that is in fact one of the 

 most valuable mousers we have in the State and should be rigidly pro- 

 tected. Contrary to popular belief, it does little or no harm to birds and 

 poultry. 



Short-eared Owl: 



Asio flammeus flammeus (Pontoppidan) 



DESCRIPTION. "Adults: Ear tufts inconspicuous; eyes with black ring and white eye- 

 brows; body varying from yellowish brown to buffy white, conspicuously streaked 

 with dark brown; wings and tail irregularly banded with dark brown and buffy or 

 yellowish brown. Young: face brownish black, under parts plain dull buffy, tinged 

 with gray in front; upper parts dark brown, the feathers tipped with yellowish 

 brown. Length: 13.80-16.75, wing 11.80-13.00, tail 5.80-6.10, bill .6o-.65." (Bailey) 

 Nest: A loose mass of sticks and grass on the ground. Eggs: 4 to 7, white. 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds from Alaska, Mackenzie, northern Quebec, and 

 Greenland south to California, Colorado, Missouri, Great Lakes, and New Jersey. 

 Winters from British Columbia and northern United States south to West Indies 

 and Central America. In Oregon: Regular permanent resident, whose numbers in- 

 crease during winter, when the birds sometimes congregate in considerable numbers 

 in small areas. 



THE SHORT-EARED OWL was first reported from Oregon by Townsend 

 (1839), an d Newberry (1857) found it common about the Klamath Lakes 

 and in the Deschutes Basin. It prefers the great grassy flats and meadows 

 of eastern Oregon, where an abundant supply of mice can usually be found. 

 One or the other of us has noted winter concentrations in Malheur River 



