THE OOLOGIST. 



167 



just mentioned. Neither owl is nearly 

 so rare as the Short-eared owl which I 

 have found breeding but once and then 

 with a nest full of young. 



Field Notes From Manitoba. 



Continued. 



V 



THE WESTEBN HORNED OWL. 



I did not visit this nest again, but in 

 the spring of '95 I decided to profit by 

 the three accidental finds I had made, 

 and on April 1st, I took the course of 

 the river west and as the ice had not 

 broken up and made the best walking, 

 I followed the river on the ice about 

 three and one-half miles west of town. 

 I found in a basswood tree leaning over 

 the river an old Broad-wing d Hawk's 

 nest, from the top of which peeped two 

 tufts of feathers, which previous exper- 

 ience told me were the ear tufts of Mrs. 

 Bubo. Knowing that all was right, I 

 climbed the tree and as I neared the 

 nest the old bird flew off and perched 

 on a tree near by, while I finished my 

 climb and examined her home. 



The nest was small, very little more 

 than a foot in diameter and only just 

 hollowed enough to keep the eggs from 

 Tolling out. It was lined with a few of 

 Mrs. Bubo's feathers and contained but 

 two eggs. These were in different stages 

 of incubation. I left them in the nest 

 to see if she would lay any more and re- 

 turning a week after found the two eggs 

 still there and Mrs. Bubo still engaged 

 in the duties of incubation. So being 

 sure the set was complete I took them. 

 From '95 to '98 I left my Horned Owls 

 to breed in peace, when on the 24th of 

 March I thought by way of recreation 

 and for necessary out-door exercise I 

 would see how they were prospering. 

 Accordingly, taking my gun and a box 

 well filled with cotton in my pocket, I 

 took the course of the river east from 

 town and after passing various unoccu- 

 pied nests found in an elm close to the 



bank of the river 25 feet up an old nest 

 of the Broad-winged Hawk, from which 

 1 could see the tell-tale tufts protruding. 

 Climbing the tree I found the nest again 

 a very small one and contained only 

 two eggs, which I left to see if any more 

 would be laid. Returning a week after 

 1 found the nest as I had left it and the 

 two eggs awaiting me, so I took them. 



On the 1st of April I followed the 

 course of the river west and in a bass- 

 wood tree leaning over the river I found 

 another nest. Mrs. Bubo was at home, 

 as numerous feathers caught on the 

 edge of the nest and in the nearby 

 branches testified, and after a short 

 climb I reached the nest, which contain- 

 ed the usual complement of two eggs 

 I left this nest for eight days, when I 

 returned to find that Mrs. Bubo consid- 

 ered a family of two enough to look 

 after and I bv taking her complement 

 of eggs put her to the trouble of re- 

 suming her household duties. This nest 

 was about 25 feet up and quite near the 

 place I found the nest in '95. 



In '99 I tried the same route on the 

 29th of March without success to the 

 east and on the 3d of April to the west 

 for three miles, but found no nests. I 

 however saw two Owls, one of which I 

 shot, a fine male of Bubo virginianus 

 subarcticus, which is the commonest re- 

 presentative of the family here. 



In 1900 I again tried my luck and on 

 April 2d in a grove of oak trees three 

 miles east of town on the bank of a 

 ravine I found a nest of the Red-tailed 

 Hawk, occupied by Horned Owls. This 

 nest was occupied last year by Red-tails 

 and as Owls generally are not well 

 versed in the mysteries of architecture 

 the nest was simply flattened and two 

 eggs rested therein. As it was late in 

 the season and the eggs appeared pretty 

 well advanced in incubation, I took 

 them and after spending the balance of 

 the afternoon in fruitless search return- 

 ed home. The nest was in a tall oak 40 

 feet up and on a main fork plenty of 



