Nov. 1885.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



173 



Rev. I. B. Henry, of Mason, Tex., has had the 

 good fortune to secure there several spcchnens of 

 the Mexican Goldfinch, Astragnlinus psaltn'K 

 mcvicanus, (Fringilla te.rensis. Giraud), and he 

 has also determined that they are not accidental 

 visitors, hut are a regular and not uncommon 

 species in his vicinity. He has noted their arrival 

 for sever.al seasons, the first one in ISS.") liaving 

 come May 20th. After identification by Mr. 

 Henry and myself, a specimen was sent to Mr. 

 Ridgway, vclio kindly compared it with Giraud's 

 type and finds that it agrees more closely with 

 Giraud's bird than with specimens from Mexico. 

 C!ould any better or stronger proof be desired that 

 in this case, at least. Giraud captured liis specimen 

 actually in Texas. 



Here, then, we have a species taken in Texas in 

 1838 ; no other trace of it found there for over 

 forty years, and then re-discovered. Not, how- 

 ever, as would be expected, as a casual visitor to 

 the extreme western border of Texas, but a regu- 

 lar Summer resident at a place two liundred miles 

 east of the Rio Grande. 



California Mottled Owl. 



{Scops asio bendivii.) 



liY W. OTTO EMEKSON, n.WWAHnS, C.\T,. 



It is my purpose to give here my ol)servalions, 

 extending over the last six years, on tliis little 

 Sarps. Except the Barn Owl, whicli takes the 

 lead, it is Iiere the most common of the family. 

 On a still evening, Mottled Owls may be heard at 

 all times of the year calling and answering one 

 anotlier from fences and posts, also (rom the 

 dead limbs of tlie many trees along the creek and 

 on the hillside. 



As I write tliis evening, one is giving his hoo- 

 too-to-to-to-hoo in fast running notes repeated 

 two or three times. Their principal enemy is the 

 small boy whose depredations I have frequently 

 had cause to lament. The past season I fmmd 

 three cosy homes of 8coj)h broken into and the 

 eggs smashed by some boy's long stick, because 

 he could not get them out, the holes lieing over 

 three feet deep down the Oak limbs. 



Knowing that the Barn Owl likes nothing bet- 

 ter than to get into some Pigeon's cot or the 

 gable end of some barn, it occurred to me that 

 perhaps tliese persecuted little Owls might make 

 use of a home prepared for tliem in some quiet, 

 shady place. I therefore nailed up three starch 

 l)oxes on some Australian Gum Trees in a small 

 grove. I made a hole at one end facing the 

 north and placed some leaves and sawdust at the 



bottom of the boxes. This was on March 14th, 

 188.5. 



I did not visit the boxes until April 10th. 

 Rapping one of the trees before going up, some- 

 thing very like a cat's head appeared at the hole 

 in the box, showing me that one of the boxes 

 had been appropriated. From the cat-like ap- 

 pearance of their heads, the boys call them 

 "Cat Owls," in this neighborhood. Mrs. Scops 

 blinked at me three or four times, then flew to a 

 tree close by. On looking in the box I found two 

 eggs. On the 12th, tliere was a third. Incuba- 

 tion was not commenced until the 17th, no more 

 eggs Iiaving been lai.l. The male was not seen 

 but once during incubation, and tliat was ouce 

 when the female leaving the box, I went up 

 to examine it. Slie gave a quick, short call 

 and the mate came in an instant, and began to 

 snap his bill at mc from a limb over h(;ad. I 

 kept a watch on her sitting, and she got so that 

 she would come to the hole when I tn]iped on 

 the tree and look down until I left. 



On looking in the box May 10th, 1 found three 

 white, downy Owlets, one not quite dry. Mrs. 

 Owl seemed to think I was getting too free witli 

 her household, for when I took one out .she flew 

 about, calling the mate. They lioth came near, 

 snapping their bills all the while. The young 

 could not liold up their heads, their eyes were 

 very round and full but not open. There was 

 down to the toes, feet a light pink. On taking 

 them out they gave a slight peep, like a young 

 chick just hatched. Tliey grew very fast and in 

 eight days commenced to show signs of pin- 

 featliers, and had strength enough to snap their 

 bills. About this time. May 18th, I found one of 

 the young with its head missing, which I could 

 not account for unless food got short, and rather 

 than to see lliem all starve the birds fed one to 

 the others. Next dny the body had disappeared. 

 I put all the remains of birds skinned, on llie top 

 of the box. They made away with it and grew 

 very fast. By the 2.5th, fifteen days after hatch- 

 ing, they had their eyes open. They would now 

 hack up into the corner in a bunch, snapping 

 their bills on my trying to get them out. By tlie 

 20th tliey all had pin-feathers of the grey plum- 

 age, with white down still showing on the ends 

 of the feathers. The old ones did not now stay 

 around. They were still in the box on .Tune 14tli, 

 when I went out to the "Farallon Islands." So I 

 don't know how they got on after that. 



There is very little ditTerence in the eggs of 

 tlie California Mottled Owl and Little Screech 

 Owl. In three sets of the former, three in each 

 set, and a set of three and four of the latter he- 



