g4 M»UT1I AMKUICAN lilJlDS. 



tlio .small Itirds upon wliicii it .subsists, njiiiiirciitly iis littlc! iiicnminnilcd by 

 tlio li,i,'lit as llicy arc. It is, however, (Idiilitliil wlictlu'r it sul>sists, to any 

 larjio extent, on small birds. So i'ar as observed it appei'.rs to leed almost 

 exclusively on insects, allhouj^li the Owl tai<i'n by Town.sond is .said to liavo 

 bad the entire body of a lui/n/iis in its slomacii. 



])r. ("oojier speaks of tliis Owl as not uneonnuon in tbi; middle ])art of 

 California, tliou^Ljli lie did not meet witli it in the southern part of the State. 

 It is, ]irobalilo that it is occasional in Southern California, as it has been 

 found in Me.xieo, where however, it is undoulitedly rare, as Mr. Kid^way 

 informs mo that only a sin,iile specimen of this Owl, amonj; a hundred others 

 from Mexico, ha.s ever been .seen by him. 



Dr. Heermann met with this beautiful little .species ainony the mountain- 

 ous distri<ls of the mininjj; rci^ions of (,'alifornia, where it was by no means 

 rare. It was, however, seldom cajjlured by him, and he re^^arded its Hying 

 by night as the reason ; but this view is not corroborated by the ob.servations 

 of otliers. In 18.')2 he jirocurcd three specimens on the borders of the Cala- 

 veras Iliver, others were taken on th(j Cosuinnes Ifiver, ami Mr. J. (1. I'ell, 

 of Xew York, met with it on the American IJiver, tluis demonstrating its 

 wide and general distrilaition throughout the State. 



Mr. John K. Lord mi't with a jiair f)n Vancouver Island. lie charac- 

 terizes the bird as of siiy and solitary habits, always hiding among the tiiick 

 foliage of the oak or pine, exee))t when feeding. Karly one sjaing, while 

 collecting specimens of the smaller migrant birds, he was favored with 

 unusual o])i)ortunities for watching their habits. The ])air had ma<le their 

 home in the hollow of an oak-treo that stood in an ojien patch of gravelly 

 ground near a small lake. The remains of an Indian lodge which was close 

 to the place enabled Mr. Lord to watch closely the habits of this interesting 

 jiair. In the lirst morning twilight the Owls were up and in motion, hungry 

 after a whole night's fasting. Tiieir flight Mas short, (piick, and jerking, 

 sinular to tliat of the Sparrow Hawk, but wiioUy unlike the mulUcd, noise- 

 less llaj) of the Xigl'.t Owls. Their food was found to be entirely insectivo- 

 rous, chieily gra.s.sho]ipers and field-crickets, witli an occasional beetle or 

 butterfly. When in ]airsuit of Iboil, they ])ercli on a small la'anch near 

 tlie ground, and sit bolt u]iright in an indolent drowsy manner until tlieir 

 (juick eye detects an insect, when thoy suddeidy pounce upon it, hold 

 it down with their small but powerful claws, and with tiieir sharp beaks 

 tear it to ])ieces. Only the soft abdominal ]iarts are thus eaten. As soon 

 as their hunger is satiated they return to the tree, cuddling close together, 

 and doze away the greater ]iart of the day. In tiic evening twilight the 

 Owls again come out of their hole and take erratic flights around tl-.eir abode, 

 chasing eacli other u]) and down tli(> ]ilain,aiul pcrforniing all kinds of inex- 

 jilicalilc nuuKcuvres. Occasionally they settle on the ground, but never long 

 at a time. 



]\lr. Lcjrd never obsi'rved them to cajjiure an insect while on the wing, 



