Birds of Yakima County, Washington. 63 



skittish horse at sight of the unwonted spectacle. There is only- 

 one Peregrine. 



35. Falco columbarius. Pigeon Hawk.— Several clear records, in- 

 cluding one yard record, September 18, 1899. 



36. Falco sparverius deserticolus. Desert Sparrow Hawk. — Of five 

 hawks in sight at once four are bound to be Sparrows. 



37. Asio wilsonianos. American Long-eared Owl.— Common. 

 Nests. 



38. Asio accipitrinus. Short-eared Owl. — One record of several 

 seen in the lower Moxee swamp. 



39. Megascopsasiomacfarlanei. MacFarlane's Screech Owl.— Quite 

 rare. Two yard records. 



40. Bubo virginianus arcticos. Arctic Horned Owl.— Fairly com- 

 mon fifteen years ago. None seen in '99- '00. 



41. Speotyto cunicularia hypogaea. Burrowing Owl.— Abundant, 

 and manifestly increasing. It is well, since farmers will kill 

 hawks indiscriminately. 



42. Glaucidiom gnoma cilifornicum. California Pygmy Owl.— One 

 specimen shot during the winter of '86-'7, the only one ever seen. 



43. Ceryle alcyon. Belted Kingfisher. Common. 



44. Dryobatei pubescens gairdnerii. Gairdner's Woodpecker.— Yard 

 record and others. Not common. 



45. Xenopicus albolarvatus. White-headed Woodpecker. — Not 

 rare in the mountains. 



46. Sphyrapicus thyroideus. Williamson's Sapsucker. — The county 

 record was made August 9, 1899, when a female was closely stud- 

 ied at the Yakima Soda Springs. 



47. Melanerpes torquatus. Lewis's Woodpecker.— The Black 

 Woodpecker was rare a dozen years age except along the upper 

 reaches of the Yakima river. Its fondness for fruit has, how- 

 ever, given it a general distribution of late, and a notable in- 

 crease in numbers. 



48. Colaptes cafer. Red-shafted Flicker.— Owing to the scarcity 

 of timber this bird has taken to public and vacant buildings, 

 especially school houses, and because of his destructiveness to 

 the woodwork a price is often put upon his head. 



49. Phalaenoptilus nottallii. Poor-will.— Among the sweetest mem- 

 ories of boyhood is the plaintive whistling" of this bird along 

 about milking time. A few still linger, but it does not take kindly 

 to the ways of civilization. 



50. Chordeiles virginianus henryi. Western Nighthawk.— Com- 

 mon. In the lower Ahtanum valley I have seen upwards of 200 

 of them gyrating, swallow fashion, within the limits of a single 

 pasture. 



51. Chaetura vaoxii. Vaux's Swift.— Two seen in a mountain 

 valley, the north fork of the Ahtanum. 



52. Stellula calliope. Calliope Hummer.— A dubious identification 



