HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 323 



while the neat and well-preserved mansion of the mar- 

 mot showed the active care of a skilful and industri- 

 ous owner. "VYe have no evidence that the Owl and 

 marmot habitually resort to one burrow ; yet we are 

 well assured by Pike and others that a common dan- 

 ger often drives them into the same excavation, where 

 lizards and rattlesnakes also enter for concealment 

 and safety. The Owl observed by Vieillot in St. Do- 

 mingo digs itself a burrow two feet in depth, at the 

 bottom of which its eggs are deposited on a bed of 

 moss, herb-stalks, and dried roots. 



" The note of our bird is strikingly similar to the 

 cry of the marmot, which sounds like cheh, cheh, 

 pronounced several times in rapid succession ; and 

 were it not that the Burrowing Owls of the West In- 

 dies, where no marmots exist, utter the same sound, 

 it might be inferred that the marmot was the unin- 

 tentional tutor to the young owl: this cry is only 

 uttered as the bird begins its flight. The food of the 

 bird we are describing appears to consist entirely of 

 insects, as, on examination of its stomach, nothing 

 but parts of their hard wing-cases were found." 



The American Shrike, or Butcher Bird (Lanius 

 Septentrionalis), is found here. His principal food 

 is large insects, such as grasshoppers, crickets, and 

 spiders, sometimes impaling them on thorns, possibly 

 as a lure to smaller birds, which he sometimes attacks 

 and tears in pieces with his sharp hooked bill. He 

 is noted also for his imitative powers as a songster; 

 but his usual note is discordant and hoarse. 



There are several species of the Fly Catcher. 

 Among others, the well known King Bird, or Tyrant 

 Fly Catcher, (Muscicapa Tyrannus.) Among smaller 

 American birds, the most pugnacious and intrepid. 



