178 THE HAWKS AND OWLS OF THE UNITED STATES. 



MAMMALS — continued. 



Neotoma mexicana. Arvieola amlerus. 



Neotoma cinerea, Arvieola longieaudus. 



Tamias dorsalis. Arvieola pauperrimua. 



Pnycliomys torridus. Arvieola mordax. 



Onychomys Uucogaater. Blarina irevicauda. 



Sitomya eremieu8. Mue muscuUis. 



Spermophilus grammurus. Mus deeumanus. 



Spermophilus harriai. Vespertilio nocUvagana, 



Fiber zibethious. Evotomys gapperi. 



Fiber zibethieus arisonw. Sorex. 



Seiurm niger litdovioianus. Sdwopterus volueella. 



Arvieola ripariua. Perodipua ordii. 



BIRUS. 



Ballua orepitana. Chondeatea grammacus. 



Colinua virginianua. Junco hyemaUa. 



Bonaaa umbellua. Mimua polyglottoa. 



Tympamichua amerieanus. Morula migratoria. 

 Aedpiter cooperi. 



The Horned Owl breeds throughout its entire range, and is one of the 

 earliest of the rapacious birds to commence family duties. In the 

 southern part of its range the eggs are deposited in December and Janu- 

 ary, and in northern Alaska, Mr. Eobert Kennicott found eggs in the 

 early part of April. So cold was the weather at the time that the eggs 

 were frozen while being carried to the fort. In the Northern and East- 

 ern States it breeds in correspondingly cold weather, and in southern 

 New Yorkj in the month of February, the writer once observed icicles 

 hanging from a nest which contained two eggs. Snow had fallen the 

 previous day and probably had covered the setting bird as well as the 

 rim of the nest. The warmth from the bird's body melted the snow, 

 and the water which passed through the bottom of the nest soon con- 

 gealed again in the frosty air and formed the icicles. 



That this Owl does occasionally build its own nest is undoubtedly true, 

 but in these sections, where old nests of hawks and crows are common, 

 it usually remodels one of them and adds a sparse lining of evergreen 

 leaves and feathers from its body as a finishing touch. The situation 

 of the nest is varied. It may be placed among the branches of a tree 

 or in a hollow trunk or limb. In the South the habit of nesting in 

 hollow trees is much more common than northward, and, according to 

 Mr. Maynard, it is a nearly universal habit with the bird in Florida. In 

 the former case the nest is more or less bulky; when built in a hollow 

 tree it is little more than a Uning to the cavity. The nest is more often 

 found in evergreen than in deciduous trees, and is usually placed in a 

 crotch near the top. In localities where suitable trees are scarce the 

 bird.has been known to place its nest in even a crevice of a rocky cliff. 

 The number of eggs in a set is usually two, though three or four are 



