THE SAW- WHET OWL. 353 



and even when pulled out, of the hole rarely makes any attempt to escape. 

 The male Saw-whet was shot while sitting on a branch near the nesting hole. 1 



In the same number of the Nuttall Bulletin, page 185, Mr. N. A. Francis, 

 of Brookline, Massachusetts, makes the following statement: "On June 4, 

 1880, I found a nest of the Acadian Owl (Ni/dale acadica), containing five 

 nearly fledged young, in a cedar tree, in the midst of a dense swamp in Brain- 

 tree. The nest was an old one of a Night Heron, repaired with a few leaves 

 and feathers. Close to this nest of the Acadian Owl was found one belong- 

 ing to a Long-eared Owl." 



The little Saw-whet is not uncommon in the southern Rocky Mountains 

 in Colorado, where JVIr. Denis Gale found it nesting near Gold Hill, and Mr. 

 William G. Smith in Estes Park. It does not appear to breed as early there 

 as in the East, and the usual number of eggs laid by it is also less. Their 

 nests were all found in abandoned Woodpecker excavations in old cottonwood 

 trees, among the dense thickets along the water courses, and situated from 

 10 to 30 feet from the ground. The number of eggs or young averaged from 

 three to five, never more. 



Mr. Gale says that when disturbed in its nest it utters occasionally a 

 peculiar cry, very similar to that of a startled Robin. Its food seemed to con- 

 sist of mice and other small rodents, and no feathers were found in any of the 

 cavities examined by him. He thinks that incubation lasts about three weeks, 

 and that the eggs are covered continuously from the time the first one is laid, 

 and are deposited at intervals of two or three days. In a set of three eggs 

 taken June 3, one was fresh, the other two containing embryos in different 

 stages of development. A second nest, found early in July, contained three 

 young of different ages and two sterile eggs. The eldest young, which was 

 more than half feathered, had a uniform chestnut colored breast. Mr. Gale 

 raised these birds, and after they had attained their growth kindly presented 

 them to me. They are deposited in the zoological collection now forming in 

 Washington, District of Columbia, and attract considerable attention. They 

 are cleanly, amiable creatures, and make exceedingly interesting pets, perform- 

 ing all sorts of curious antics in the early evening and throughout the night, 

 while during the day they are rather sleepy and quiet, and sit close together 

 in their cage. 



Mr. W. G. Smith found a nest of this species in a gloomy ravine near 

 water at an altitude of about 7,000 feet, on June 6, 1890. The eggs, four 

 in number, were partly incubated and placed in a hole in an old cotton- 

 wood stump about 10 feet high and 8 inches from the aperture. The nest- 

 ing material was scant and consisted of a few domestic chicken feathers. 

 The female flew out when disturbed and was secured; the male was not seen. 

 On June 8 he found a second nest containing three young birds already well 

 feathered and within a mile of the former site and in a similar location; it 

 appeared to be an old squirrel's nest. 



1 Bulletin Nuttall Ornithological Club, Vol. VI, July, 1881, pp. 143, 144. 

 26957 Bull. 1 23 



