102 



YOSEMITE NATURE NOTES 



SHORT-EARED OWL (Asio flam- 

 meus): 13-17 in. Above mottled yel- 

 lowish-brown and dark brown, streaked 

 on head and neck; below bufTy streaked 

 with dark brown, conspicuously so on 

 chin and breast; buffy patches on upper 

 surface of iviiii^s; under surfaces of 

 wings bufTy with dark mark toward 

 tip; facial discs dark around eyes, fad- 

 ing into gray; inconspicuous "ear" tufts. 

 Forages in the daytime. 



Usually occurs in marshy land and 

 open fields. Rare C. V. to Yosemite 

 region. Has been seen at 11.000 feet 

 on Mount ClarJc. 



SAW -WHET OWL (Acgolius aca- 

 dicus): 7-8/2 in. Above brown, spotted 

 iv'.th ivh'.te; "car" tufts absent; top of 

 hea'l and neck with fine white streaks 

 on h;-own; w!:itc> ovrr eyes; under parts 

 with strong, reddish-brown bars on 

 \\hiti4i: white sjxits on wing; tail in- 

 consp'.cuous, with white bars. Imma- 

 ture: Chocolate brown above; tawny 

 below, with dark streaks; sooty face 

 with white "eyebrows." Call a long 

 seri?3 of staccato notes, near one pitch 

 but vp.rying in volume. 



Frecjuents woodland and coniferous 

 forests of the Transition and Canadian 

 life-zones. Sparse R. in Yosemite r*"- 

 gion. Recorded as nesting in Yosemite 

 Valley. . . ^o 



GOATSITCKER-LIKE BIRDS: 

 Order Caprlmulgiformes 



GOATSUCKERS: 



Family Caprimulgidae 



BOOMING NIGHTHAWK (Chor- 

 deiles minor): 8/2- 10 in. Above black, 

 marked with gray and brown; tail 

 forked; white band crosses outer tail 

 feathers near tip, wanting in female; 

 white across throat, bufTy in female; 

 white band midway between tip and 

 bend in long, slender wings; under 

 parts gray, crossbarred with dusky. 

 Forages in the air usually at dusk, 

 catching insects with its large, widely 

 opened mouth. Flight erratic. Voice a 



harsh, rasping speeink. May dive to- 

 ward the ground with extended, fixed 

 wings. At the bottom of the swoop the 

 wings are bent suddenly downward and 

 a startling sound, "whoof," is pro- 

 duced by the rush of air through the 

 primary feathers. Eggs laid on bare 

 ground. 



Frequents open coniferous forests of 

 high mountains in summer, usually 

 \v!i'.-re tlv.'re is open rocky ground for 

 nesting. S. V. in the Transition, Cana- 

 dian, and Hudsonian life-zones in the 

 Yosemite region. Seen chiefly in high 

 mountain areas such as Tuolumne 

 Meadows, at Merced and Vogelsang 

 Lakes, and occasionally in Yosemite 

 Valley. 



BOOMING NIGHTHAWK 



.,.-^^;. 



POOR-WILL 



7-8 



:r^^^^i^,.> 



