1913 BIRDS OF THE FRESNO DISTRICT 47 



zagging out into the fields. Soon 1 saw a Sparrow Hawk leave its perch in an 

 oak tree, and, deftly seizing a flying hopper, it perched by a hole under a dead 

 branch, and reaching inside, deposited a meal for its mate or children. While I 

 was within sight of the tree the performance was repeated, so that grasshoppers 

 were probably the staple diet of this family at least. 



May 9, 1908, I examined two nests of these little falcons in trees along Dry 

 Creek, six or seven miles east of Clovis. One nest was in what was, no doubt, 

 an old excavation of a flicker, sixteen feet from the ground, in a large, rotten 

 branch of a cottonwood. This cavity held small, white, downy young, and I 

 was attracted to it from a distance by the female bird, which came out to meet me. 

 She kept up a continual screaming while I remained near, and frequently dashed 

 close to my head. Her mate did not put in an appearance. 



The second nest was in a dead willow stub, and was not discovered until the 

 female left the nest, after I had struck the tree several heavy blows. This ex- 

 cavation was about one foot in depth and eight inches in diameter at the bottom, 

 where five eggs, far advanced in incubation, rested on the rotten wood and 

 chips. The female left her home silently and was not seen again. 



Barn Ow^l. Aluco pratincola (Bonaparte). 



In all the bird kingdom there is probably no creature that is more unap- 

 preciated, more persecuted, or more disliked than this night prowler ; 

 yet it is certain that no other bird found in Fresno County can 

 compare with it in usefulness. Great Blue Herons, weasels, and 

 gopher snakes all do their part in keeping gophers in check in the alfalfa fields, 

 but the Barn Owl probably captures more of these rodents than all other agencies 

 combined. As a mouser he stands far above any other bird. 



The author once found a pair of these owls occupying the garret of an 

 abandoned house on the plains southwest of Fresno, and the number of bones of 

 small m.ammals that were scattered about was surprising. There was not less 

 than a five gallon measure full of skulls alone, the greater part of which ap- 

 peared to be mouse skulls. A visit to the nesting place of a pair of Barn Owls 

 should be sufficient to convince anyone that this bird is the farmer's friend, yet 

 the appearance of one of these owls is very often greeted with a charge of shot, 

 for to kill "one of them Monkey-faced Owls" seems to be regarded as a good 

 deed. 



Fortunately Nature has made this owl a nocturnal hunter. It is because 

 .so many of the rodents are most active during the hours of darkness that owls 

 can be of such great service. 



It is seldom that Barn Owls are seen during the day time, unless aroused 

 from their hiding places. But fleeting shadows falling across the street on moon- 

 light evenings tell of their presence as certainly as does the sudden "kar-r-r-ick ' 

 that is frequently heard overhead. The hiding places are in thick trees, in old 

 houses or barns, and in holes in banks ; but at night the birds are distributed 

 quite generally over the valley. 



The same places that conceal the birds during the daylight hours are used 

 in many cases for nesting sites. As far as I can learn the holes in the banks along 

 the San Joaquin River shelter by far the greater part of the nesting owls in this 

 vicinity. In my experience six eggs constitute the usual set, although no doubt 



