THE NIDIOLOGIST 



173 



commence to "toot." This note is hard to 

 describe, but once heard is never forgotten. 

 It is easily imitated, and probably resembles 

 the words "toot" or "who" uttered in a 

 drawn-out, explosive manner. The Owls were 

 observed " tooting " as early as 6 a. m., and 

 up to II A. M., but never in the afternoon. 

 The usual time of "tooting " is from 6 to 8:30 

 A. M., and on cloudy days later, even up to eleven 

 o'clock. The note cannot be called loud, but 

 nevertheless can be heard for a quarter of a 

 mile and upward, and is deceptive. 



When disturbed during its time of " tooting " 

 the Owl will glance at the intruder for a mo- 

 'ment, and then resume its note with apparent 

 unconcern. During mating season they are 

 hard to drive from their perch. Years ago 

 Mr. Carriger remembers seeing a number of 

 these Owls in the orchard about the house, but 

 of late years none have been observed within a 

 mile or more of a residence. In 1893 a speci- 

 men was captured and kept in a cage for over 

 a month, when it fell a prey to a cat. 



Mr. Carriger has had the good fortune to dis- 

 cover four nests of this species during recent 

 years. Nest No. i was found April 26, 1891, 

 and contained six fresh eggs. A rap on the 

 tree brought the bird from the cavity, and after 

 following her for some time she returned to the 

 nest, but left as soon as the ascent to the cavity 

 was begun, and remained in the tree while her 

 home was being despoiled. The cavity was in 

 the main body of a large white oak, fourteen 

 feet from the ground. The entrance was a 

 little over two inches in diameter, and four 

 inches deep. The inside diameter of the 

 cavit^' was nearly six inches. The nest con- 

 tained a freshly killed lizard. 



The second nest was found on May 4, 1893, 

 and contained five eggs, one of which was 

 ■cracked, and another had two small holes in it, 

 one near each end. The Owl had been heard 

 ■" tooting " in the locality for some time previous 

 to the nest being found. The cavity was 

 twenty feet up in the main body of a white oak. 

 The entrance was nearly three inches in 

 diameter, while the cavity was about five 

 inches deep and six inches in diameter. Upon 

 opening the cavity a California Screech Owl 

 was found within. It was presumably a male 

 which had selected the Pygmy Owl's nest as a 

 hiding place during the daytime. It had ap- 

 parently occupied the cavity for some time, 

 which accounts for the two broken eggs. 



On May 9, 1894, the third nest was found, 

 containing four fresh eggs. The cavity was 

 twenty-five feet up in a limb of a white oak, 

 about two hundred yards from nest No. 2, 

 Both were in sparsely timbered localities. The 

 ■entrance was 2X24- inches, and the distance to 



the cavity proper was 5 inches. The cavity 

 was g^ inches deep. Judging from the number 

 of feathers around, the female had evidently 

 been captured and the nest recently deserted, 

 although one bird had been " tooting " in the 

 locality for some days. 



In February and March of the present year 

 several Owls were heard in different localities, 

 but in April and May all, with one exception, 

 were quiet. This remaining bird was heard 

 through all of April and part of May, but the 

 nest could not be located. On May 29 a 

 search of the locality found the bird "tooting" 

 in a large white oak, in which it had been seen 

 on many previous occasions. Upon approach- 

 ing it flew to a tree near by, and then returned 

 to its former perch. Here it was joined by its 

 mate. Both birds now commenced to " toot," 

 also uttering a sort of gurgling note. One of 

 the birds flew into a canyon, and soon after- 

 ward a close search of a large white oak re- 

 vealed the head of an Owl protruding from a 

 cavity twenty feet up. A moment later another 

 bird, presumably the mate of the one on its 

 nest, flew by with something in its claws, and 

 disappeared in the forest. Quite an interval 

 passed before the ascent was made, and it is 

 supposed that the male fed the food to its mate 

 in the cavity, for after the female was shot its 

 stomach was found to contain a freshly killed 

 lizard. While the nest was -being chopped 

 open both birds were very noisy, and often 

 approached within a few feet of the collector. 

 The nest contained five eggs in which incuba- 

 tion was highly advanced. While taking the 

 eggs from the cavity the female tried repeatedly 

 to enter. The entrance to the hole was 2-| 

 inches in diameter. The inside diameter was 

 6f inches, and depth of cavity 18 inches. The 

 bottom of the cavity was well filled with bones 

 and pieces of beetles' wings, which goes to 

 show that it had probably been used in previous 

 years. Returning next day an imitation, of the 

 bird's call was made, and it was answered by 

 the male, who soon appeared, and was secured. 



Mr. Barlow read a paper entitled " Stray 

 Notes from the Farallons." 



The Club meets August 3 at San Jose. The 

 Annex meets July 28 at Mr. Shields's residence 

 at Los Angeles. 



How about This? 



Mr. A. M. Shields writes that while on their 

 trip after Condor's eggs, one of his collectors 

 " secured a prize in a very much enlarged nest 

 of Rufour Hummer, containing /our eggs. 

 Whether or no a partnership affair could not 

 be determined; only one bird was seen around, 

 however.''' 



