384 LIFE HISTOEIES OP NOETH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



There is no perceptible difference in the general habits of the Western Horned 

 Owl from those of its eastern relatives. Their call notes are also similar; 

 and, like it, it is the most destructive and insatiable of all the Raptores found 

 in its range, feeding to a great extent on valuable game birds, especially 

 the Columbian and Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse, wherever these are abundant, 

 as well as on Ducks, other waterfowl, and the smaller land birds. Among 

 mammals, hares, prairie dogs, polecats, marmots, the different species of tree 

 and ground squirrels, wood rats, and other rodents, contribute to its fare. In 

 the more settled regions poultry yards also suffer, as these Owls rapidly develop 

 a strong taste for such food. 



In the choice of nesting sites the Western Horned Owl shows a wider 

 range, however, than the preceding. While perhaps the majority of these 

 birds resort likewise to hollow trees or old nests of the larger Hawks and of 

 the common Crow, quite a number nest in the wind-worn holes in sandstone 

 and other clifFs, small caves in clay and chalk bluffs, in some localities on 

 the ground, and, I believe, even occasionally in badger holes under ground. 

 On the grassy plains in the vicinity of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, in 

 northeastern Oregon, I have several times seen Owls of this race sitting on 

 the little mounds in front of badger or coyote burrows, near the mouths 

 of which small bones and pellets of fur, were scattered about. While unable 

 to assert positively that they do actually breed occasionally in such holes, 

 the indications point that way, and this would not seem to be due to the 

 absence of suitable timber, as an abundance of large trees grow along the 

 banlis of the Umatilla River not more than a mile away. When nesting in 

 trees, large cottonwoods, sycamores, willows, pecans, pines, oaks, and firs, are 

 generally preferred. In regions, however, where heavy timber is scarce they 

 content themselves with nests in small mesquite and hackberry trees, frequently 

 placed not over 10 feet from the ground. In Lower California (!) and southern 

 Arizona they also nest occasionally in the sahuara, the giant cactus, so common 

 in those regions. In Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho, they are known to make 

 use of old Black-billed Magpies' nests, laying their eggs occasionally inside, 

 but more often on the broken down roof of these bulky structures. In the 

 neighborhood of Nueces Bay, in southwestern Texas, they nest in holes in 

 high banks, and in portions of California similar situations are occupied. 



Mr. Charles A. Allen, of Nicasio, California, writes me as follows: "On the 

 seacoast near Point Reyes I have found their nests on the ground. All along 

 the coast the water rushing down from the hills during the rainy season has 

 worn and cut channels out of the S'oft and friable soil to the depth of 100 or 

 200 feet as it approaches the shore, the sides of these gulches being frequently 

 nearly perpendicular. The slopes of these cuts are in many parts covered with 

 a growth of coarse grass, bullrushes, and tall ferns, and a place among these is 

 usually selected by them for a nesting site. A shallow hole is scratched out 

 next to the bank, and although you may be able to look down into the nests, 

 they are frequently inaccessible. I have, while hunting sea birds, often started 

 Owls from off their nests in such places." 



