406 Lli^^E HISTORIES OP NORTH AMEKiOAN BIRDS. 



just been carried in, as it had not been touched. The cavity was almost 

 entirely filled up by the contents mentioned."^ 



Mr. William G. Smith, of Loveland, Colorado, well known as a reliable 

 naturalist and collector, writes me that he found a nest of this species, on 

 May 31, 1890, containing three young birds apparently about two days old 

 and a single egg which was on the point of hatching, in a ravine near Estes 

 Park at an altitude of about 10,000 feet. The site was in an old Wood- 

 pecker's hole in a dead aspen about 14 feet from the ground. The nest, if 

 it can be called such, was composed of a few feathers and rubbish. The 

 female was in the hole, and in trying to take her out the egg was broken; 

 the male was perched on a tree close by and was likewise secured. Mr. 

 Smith also states in one of his letters to me that one of these little Owls 

 made itself quite familiar in the town of Loveland, Colorado, during the 

 winter (1890), flying about the houses during the daytime for several days, 

 until shot. He regards them as rare in that vicinity. 



Mr. Charles F. Morrison reports having taken four sets of their eggs in La 

 Plata County, Colorado, during 1886 and 1887, but fails to describe or to give 

 measurements of these eggs, and I have been unable to borrow any of these 

 specimens for examination. He states that they nested in deserted Wood- 

 peckers' holes and hollow stubs on the sides of gulches grown up with pine 

 timber. He gives the earliest date of nesting as June 1, and the latest June 22. 

 The nesting sites were from 8 to 20 feet up. The only note he heard them 

 utter was a faint squeak. 



The food of the Pygmy Owl consists principally of the smaller rodents and 

 birds, some considerably larger than itself It is a decidedly savage little fel- 

 low and a courageous one as well. Li speaking of their food, my friend Dr 

 James C. Merrill, U. S. Army, makes the following statement: "One captured 

 February 21, had just struck at a Robin, and was struggling with it on the 

 ground. It is said to be especially abundant in summer at Modoc Point, 

 Klamath Lake, Oregon, and to feed upon a lizard that is' common there. I 

 have also found fragments of field mice in their stomachs. Insects, however, 

 and especially grasshoppers, constitute the greater part of their food, when they 

 can be obtained. When the Owl is searching for these, the smaller birds pay 

 but little attention to it, even if it happens to alight near them."^ 



Judging from the date of nesting but a single brood is raised in a season, 

 and incubation appears to begin with the first egg laid. They are constant resi- 

 dents wherever found. 



I regret that I am unable to give a detailed description and measurement 

 of their eggs, which appear to be usually four in number, but they will unques- 

 tionably prove indistinguishable from those of its near relative, the California 

 Pygmy Owl, which are known. 



'Auk, Vol. V, No. 4, October, 1888, pp. 366-371. 

 2 Auk, Vol. V, No. 2, April, 1888, p. 146. 



