1 922 THE OWLS 



was at one time thought that both owls and marmots, together with the rattlesnakes 

 which likewise frequent the colonies, lived together as a kind of happy family. 

 Modern research, has, however, shown that this is one of many zoological fables. 

 Captain Bendire is indeed of opinion that, in spite of its diminutive stature, the 

 owl is a match both for the marmot and the snake, and that it subsists to some 

 extent on the young marmots, if not also on the old ones. In parts where there 

 are no marmots, such as California and Oregon, the owls generally frequent the 

 burrows of the susliks {Spermophilus) which they enlarge to suit their own require- 

 ments, and Dr. Coues states, they sometimes occupy the earths of wolves, foxes, or 

 badgers. From having been found living alone, the latter writer thinks that the 

 owls may sometimes excavate their own burrows, but this is considered improbable 

 by Captain Bendire. On the pampas of Argentina, the burrowing owls take up 

 their residence with the viscacha (Lagostomus). Mr. Hudson says that the " birds 

 generally make their own burrows to breed in, or sometimes take possession of one 

 of the lesser outside burrows of the village, but their favorite residence, when not 

 engaged in tending their eggs or young, is on the viscacheria. ' ' During the day- 

 time they are exceeedingly bold, flying and screaming round the head of the in- 

 truder on their domains (as the writer has often witnessed), while at night their 

 weird cry resounds across the silent pampas. In North America the food of these 

 owls consists of young prairie marmots, susliks, chipmunks, gophers, and other 

 small mammals, as well as lizards, frogs, fish, large insects, and perhaps small birds. 

 The owls hunt their prey mainly in the early evening and during the night, and 

 but rarely in the daytime; they are exceedingly voracious, each bird being said to 

 eat fully its own weight in the twenty-four hours, if it can obtain a sufficient sup- 

 ply. In North America the breeding season commences in the latter part of March, 

 the same burrow being generally used year after year, and cleaned out and repaired 

 when necessary. The burrows, according to Captain Bendire, vary from five to ten 

 feet in depth, and are usually about five inches in diameter, the nesting chamber 

 being, however, from twelve to fifteen inches across. Frequentty the burrow is 

 much curved, so that the nest may lie within a couple of feet off the surface; at 

 times the nest is lined with grass or feathers, but more generally with cow dung. 

 Seven to nine is the usual number of eggs, but there may be as few as six or as 

 many as eleven. Both sexes assist in incubation; and, unless the eggs be taken, but 

 a single clutch is laid in a season. In defense of their eggs and young, these 

 little owls exhibit determined ferocity, retreating to the ends of their burrows, and 

 striking out at the intruder with beak and claws. 



Although the name little owl, or owlet, is of course equivalent to 

 pygmy owl, yet it is convenient to restrict the latter term to the mem- 

 bers of the genus Glauddium, and the former to those of the present genus. As 

 already mentioned, the little owls are frequently confounded with the pygmy owls, 

 but the two differ essentially in that the former have a long and the latter a short 

 first primary quill. The little owls differ from the burrowing owl in that both 

 the fourth and fifth primaries have their outer webs deeply scalloped, and also in 

 having the upper part of the metatarsus hidden by feathers, and the base of the 

 toes enveloped in the plumage of the metatarsus, their legs thus appearing very 



