BIRDS OF NORTHERN CANADA 371 



The Ottawa Museum contains five skins of this owl, 

 including a pure white one taken north of the Capital city, 

 but no eggs ! 



377a. Ameeican Hawk Owl — Sumia ulula caparoch 



(MiilL). 



Dr. Bell was the recipient of a female example, shot at 

 Fort Providence early in April, 1885, and also of two eggs 

 taken from a nest found on a spruce tree in the same quarter 

 on the 14th of the same month, the parent of which was seen 

 and identified as a hawk owl. Towards the end of May, 

 1885, the late Mr. Joseph Mercredi, of Fond du Lac, obtained 

 from an Indian the female parent and five eggs, found in 

 a nest built in a tree at some distance north of his post in 

 Athabasca district. The contents of the eggs, from both 

 points were quite fresh. Both specimens were forwarded 

 to Mr. Dalgleish. In 1889 an example skin from each of 

 Forts Babine and St. James were secured and forwarded 

 to Washington. 



This bird is not uncommon in the region of Anderson 

 River, although only four nests were discovered there some 

 forty years ago. They were all built on spruce pine trees 

 at a fairly high height from the ground, and were con- 

 structed of small twigs, branches, and lined with dry grasses 

 and moss. One of them contained two young birds, aged 

 respectively about ten days and three weeks, together with 

 an addled egg. The others, however, held six eggs each, 

 and the fourth as many as seven. This species is one of the 

 Arctic " winterers." The parent birds were naturally very 

 indignant with our procedure. 



According to Mr. B. R. Ross it nests occasionally in 

 cliffs, but its usual nesting sites are probably natural cavities 

 in trees, where they are obtainable, but when such are want- 

 ing, open nests placed on the decayed tops of stumps or 

 among the limbs of thick and bushy conifers are used. Mr. 

 Raine, of Toronto, has a clutch of seven eggs and another 



