THE YOUNG OOLOGIST. 



12$ 



first assertion sustained, and also that this 

 species is misnamed "a sap-suclier," al- 

 though at a certain season sap is a prime 

 article of food, and that he is more of an 

 insect than a worm eater, lacking the nec- 

 essary machinery for reaching worms in 

 the true picarian style. 



--.-♦-. 



The Barn Owl in Southern California. 



With the exception of the Burrowing 

 Owl, the Barn Owl is the most abundant 

 of Southern California Stngid(v. The breed- 

 ing season begins about the first of March, 

 and eggs maj' be obtained through March, 

 April and even as late as the earlv part of 

 May. The nest is usually a hole in the 

 face of some cliff or steep bank — generallj^ 

 excavated by the birds themselves, although 

 they sometimes make use of natural cavi- 

 ties. The holes are from one to four feet 

 in length and eight inches to a foot and a 

 half in height. The eggs are laid on the 

 bare earth of the hole, no material of any 

 sort being added. If the nesting place be 

 not disturbed, the owls occupy the same 

 hole, year after year. If the first set of 

 eggs is taken, a second set is generally 

 laid. In one instance, which came under 

 my observation last spring, a pair of 

 Barn Owls made a nest in a gTilly about 

 twenty feet deep, with perpendicular sides, 

 the owls making use of a large hole, which 

 had been washed out by the rains of 

 previous years. This nest was not dis- 

 covered until rain, late in March, softened 

 the earth so that several feet of the side of 

 the gulch was caved off, disclosing some 

 fragments of egg shells and one egg which 

 had been imbedded in the mud, so that it 

 escaped destruction. On blowing, this egg 

 was found to be perfectly fresh. 



About two weeks later I was consider- 

 ably astonished in going to the stable to 

 feed the horses one morning, to hear the 

 peculiar click-click of the Barn Owl coming 

 from place in close proximity. On in- 

 vestigation I discovered that a pair of Barn 

 Owls (doubtless the same pair above alluded 

 to, as they had been seen in the vicinity 

 every evening), had taken possession of 



the upper part of a hay press, which had 

 been left standing near the stable after the 

 season's work. Both birds were in the 

 press when I went to investigate, but as I 

 climbed up the side, the male tiew out ; the 

 female did not follow, however, and seemed 

 very unwilling to leave her corner. She did 

 not fly, even when 1 gently pushed her a 

 little to one side, disclosing a single egg, 

 which was deposited on the bare boards of 

 the platen. She was left undisturbed, and 

 an egg was laid every other day imtil six 

 had been deposited, when, as no more were 

 laid in the ensuing four days. I took the 

 set. The incubation varied from one egg 

 about half incubated, to one which appeared 

 p rfectly fresh. Barn Owls occasionally 

 breed in hollow trees or other convenient 

 places, but, in this locality at least, a hole 

 in the face of a cliff is the general rule-. 

 The eggs vary both in number and in size 

 and shape. They are usually rather long, 

 and pointed at the small end, somewhat 

 similar to those of the Quail, though in one 

 set I obtained last spring, the eggs were 

 nearly spherical, one of them measuring 

 1.47x1.29 inches. An egg from another 

 set in my possession measures 1.98x1.48 in. 

 The number of eggs in a set ranges from 

 three to eight, Ave or six being the more 

 common number. The eggs are white, but 

 without the glossy surface common to the 

 eggs of the smaller species of owls. 



Joseph L. Edmistok, 

 Riverside, Cal. 

 _ — • -•-* 



The new column announcement of 

 Messrs. Davis & Baker, publishers of the 

 Oologists' Directory, merits the special 

 attention of our readers. Their previous 

 advertisement appeared in two leading 

 monthlies prior to its being published in 

 The Young Oologist, but in a letter a 

 few weeks since they inform us that itco- 

 tkirds of all answers received mention the 

 Young OoijOGist. 



For every new subscriber you may send 

 us for the Y'oung Oologist, we will give 

 a copy of our new Hand-book. 



