S2 



THE KIDIOLOGLST 



more probablj- the latter as the young can 

 digest onh- the clear flesh, while the adult 

 birds swallow everything, even to the whole 

 head, legs and tail. 



From the stomach of one Owl I extracted 

 portions of the skulls of two ground squir- 

 rels, the hindquarters of a pocket gophtr 

 and the skull and tail of a large rat. Cer- 

 tainly this bird died with a full stomach. 



However in all cases, when the stomach 

 contained this indigestible matter, if the 

 bird was secured late in the day the stomach 

 had completed its work, and the matter 

 was ready for ejection; while if the bird 

 was secured in the morning, the process 

 had only begun. From this I observe that 

 each evening, preceding the nocturnal 

 search for food, this waste matter is ejected. 



Perhaps no bird is more strictly nocturnal 

 in its habits than the Barn Owl. Not a 

 single instance can I relate of knowing this 

 bird to venture out of its roosting place by 

 daylight, save when flushed by fright. Yet 

 having examined the stomachs of a large 

 series of these birds, in those which con- 

 tained food at all, portions of the ground 

 squirrel were more prevalent than those of 

 any other prey. 



The Owl being strictly nocturnal in its 

 habits, and the ground squirrel exactly the 

 opposite, involves the idea that the Owl 

 can only obtain the squirrels by picking up 

 dead ones. 



This would necessitate the inclusion of 

 some squirrels which have been poisoned; 

 thus the question remains can a bird of 

 prey be poisoned? Kminent Ornithologists 

 think the}- cannot, yet the real facts of the 

 case remain to most of us unrevealed. 



One particularly interesting fact is that 

 at times this bird is very stupid, and will 

 not leave its roosting place except when 

 forced to do so. Again it will fly at the 

 slightest sound of the approaching enemy. 

 This apparentl}' depends on the amount of 

 food which their stomach contains; as, ac- 

 cording to my observations, tho.se which 

 were most stupid, had full or nearly full 

 stomachs, while those which were not so 

 stupid, had not been so fortunate in their 

 search for food the preceding night, and 

 their stomachs were either entirely empty, 

 or contained much less food. 



Frank I. Athekton. 



Los Gatos, Cal. 



My Buceras, "Hermann." 



[TR.\NSL.\TED FOR THE NIDIOI^OGIST FROM THE 

 GERMAN OK PAUL RKICHARD BY ANGUS GAINES.] 



HERMANN was a high born bird. 

 He was also a genuine Central Afri- 

 can, for he first saw the light on the 

 heights of the plateau Melumbe, 150 

 kilometers west of lakeTanganjika. From 

 his birthplace he had a fine view of the 

 country. All around were chains of 

 mountains covered with endless, open 

 forests, and in the distance shone the broad 

 ribbon of the mighty Laupula, one of the 

 fountain streams of the Congo. 



Hermann's parents were plain Rhinoceros 

 Birds of the Ahisiitus variety. It is custo- 

 mary with this species for the female to 

 brood in a cloister. Having found a hole 

 in a tree as high up and as well hidden as 

 possible they line it with a little grass and 

 feathers. In this rude nest the female lays 

 four or five white eggs not quite as large 

 as those of a dove. When this is done her 

 mate walls her in until the nesthole is 

 closed excepting an oval aperture scarcely 

 as large as a dollar, through which she can 

 protrude her beak but not her head. As 

 building material the male uses a greas}' 

 kind of gray clay, which mixed with saliva 

 and kneaded together with coarse sand, be- 

 comes extremely hard when dried. This 

 singular proceeding of the male is not done 

 through the promptings of oriental jeal- 

 ousy, but as a protection for his brooding 

 mate and his descendants. 



These nests are so well hidden that they 

 are rarel)' found. During my more than 

 five years wanderings in Africa my people 

 succeeded in finding but three Buceras 

 nests. 



As you would infer from the structure of 

 the nest, the whole responsibility of finding 

 food for the female and later on for the en- 

 tire fatuily falls upon the male. Truly this 

 is no small task with the tremendous appe- 

 tites of these birds. Fortunately the 

 Buceras is omnivorous, eating fruits as well 

 as insects, and having no prejudice against 

 young birds and mice. Most of all he likes 

 grasshoppers of every kind, and, as is well 

 known, there is no scarcity of these in 

 Africa, even between the visits of the 

 wandering grasshoppers. 



The period of incubation is about four 

 weeks, and the family does not leave the 

 cell until all the young are able to fly. The 

 parents assist each other in widening the 



