178 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



spruce tree, and two to four eggs are laid. We know but little of 

 its habits and its food, but it seems to sustain the reputation of 

 the Barred Owl, of a fondness for rodents. Of nine stomachs 

 examined, all contained mice, while in on'^ was the remains of a 

 snow bunting. 



The Lapp owl of the Old World has been noted as accidentally 

 occurring in Alaska. 



GROUP V. — SAW-WHET OWLS, Cryptoglaux. 



Three forms belonging to this genus occur in the Nearctic 

 Region. The handsome little Richardson Owd, Cryptoglaitx 

 tenguiahni richardsoni (Bonap.), has much the same distribution 

 as the Great Gray Owl, breeding in northern Canada and coming 

 south in winter as far as the northern United States. It is a 

 sub-species of the Tengmalm Owl of northern Europe and Asia, 

 and differs from that bird chiefly in the predominance of the 

 darker tints of the plumage. A hint of the dangers to which this 

 little owl is exposed is shown in the fate of a parent owl which 

 had a nest with four eggs in a hollow spruce stub ; the unfortu- 

 nate bird being killed and eaten by a pair of ravens whose nesi 

 was in a neighboring tree. 



Quite similar in general tone of plumage, but lighter in color 

 and smaller in size, is the familiar Saw-Whet Owl, Cryptoglaux 

 acadica (Gmel.). Its rasping, but not unpleasant notes have given 

 to it its common name. During March and early April, when 

 the thoughts of these little owls are turning to nesting, the notes 

 are most often heard — calls of defiance or invitation — we know- 

 not which. A woodpecker or a squirrel hole is finally chosen, 

 and three or four small white eggs laid therein. 



It is nocturnal and sits so still in the daytime, huddled up close 

 to the trunk of some dense spruce or cedar, that it is seldom ob- 

 served. If carefully looked for in winter, however, it can usually 

 be found, and is so sleepy or dazzled by the light, that one can 

 pick the bird from its perch without difficulty. Four-fifths of its 

 food consists of small field mice. 



Along the humid coast of British Columbia, the Saw-Whets are 

 much darker, and have been accounted worthy of sub-specific dis- 

 tinction. Otherwise, the Saw-Whet Owls from Newfoundland 

 and British Columbia, south to Pennsylvania and New Mexico are 

 all alike. 



