234 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



small amount vary the menu, and the birds 

 on the whole are decidedly beneficial. Like 

 other owls in recent years, these birds have 

 become less common in many sections where 

 they were formerly abundant. 



About country estates the activities of 

 the tree surgeon in filling cavities and re- 

 moving dead limbs reduce the number of 

 shelters available for small owls, a matter 

 perhaps to the advantage of other birds. 

 Where natural holes are not available, the 

 owls will often use flicker boxes and similar 

 artificial shelters. 



As a species the screech owl ranges from 

 New Brunswick, southern Manitoba, and 

 Sitka, Alaska, south into Baja California 

 and northern Mexico. In this vast area fif- 

 teen geographic races, differing in size and 

 color, are found. 



The plate (page 233) illustrates two types 

 among these forms. Kennicott's screech 

 owl {Otus asio kennicotti), a large dark 

 form, of the northwest coast from Sitka to 

 the State of Washington, is shown in the up- 

 per figure. 



The red and the gray phases of plumage 

 in the eastern screech owl {Otus a. naevius) , 

 which ranges from New Brunswick, On- 

 tario, and southern Manitoba to the high- 

 lands of Georgia and west to eastern Okla- 

 homa, are depicted at the bottom. 



Flammulated Screech Owl 



{Otus flammeolus) 



Our curiosity was aroused by an unusual 

 owl call heard nightly from a small gulch 

 near a camp in the Chiricahua Mountains 

 of Arizona. Investigating, Eugene Law and 

 I found that it came from the little flammu- 

 lated screech owl, a species as rare as the 

 spotted owl and equally little known. As 

 we moved slowly through the brush in our 

 search, the owl, previously not seen, swooped 

 suddenly at Law's head and then returned 

 to a perch. Here we had a view of its short 

 ear tufts and dark eyes (page 236), the 

 latter being entirely different from the yel- 

 low eyes of ordinary screech owls (page 

 233). 



Brief episodes of this character have 

 ^iven naturalists most of what little is 

 known of the habits of this rare owl. 



The flammulated screech owl is nocturnal 

 and is seldom abroad by day. It is found 

 in wooded areas in the western mountains, 

 and in Colorado has been encountered as 

 high as 10,000 feet above the sea. 



The nest is usually in an old woodpecker 

 hole, where the eggs, two to four in number, 

 are placed on a few chips, to which there are 

 added sometimes bits of twigs or feathers. 

 The egg of a flicker has been found with 

 those of the owl, indicating that the latter 

 may sometimes preempt domiciles in use by 

 other birds. However, the owls do not seem 

 quarrelsome, as occasionally neighboring 

 holes in the tree occupied by them may JDe in 

 use by bluebirds and other hole-nesting 

 species, all living peacefully in close prox- 

 imity. 



One flammulated screech owl collected by 

 Dr. C. Hart Merriam at the Grand Canyon 

 in Arizona had eaten a scorpion and various 

 beetles. These birds also feed on small 

 mammals. 



This screech owl ranges from southern 

 British Columbia and Idaho to Colorado, 

 south through the mountains into Mexico 

 and the highlands of Guatemala. 



The spotted screech owl {Otus trie hop- 

 sis), which is not illustrated, is somewhat 

 like the ordinary screech owl, but has long 

 bristly tips on the feathers of the face. Like 

 the eastern screech owl, it has two color 

 phases, one gray and one reddish brown. 

 It is found from the Huachuca and Santa 

 Catalina Mountains of Arizona south into 

 Guatemala. 



Saw- Whet Owl 



{Cryptoglaux acadica) 



This tiny owl takes its name from its curi- 

 ous notes, uttered constantly during the 

 nesting season. They often resemble the 

 sound made by filing a saw, though at times 

 they are more softly modulated (page 236). 



The saw-whet owl inhabits forests where 

 it hunts at night. It breeds from April to 

 June, placing its nest in an old woodpecker 

 hole or other tree hollow, or rarely in a 

 cavity among rocks or in the abandoned 

 nests of birds or squirrels. There is some- 

 times a slight nest lining to protect the eggs, 

 which range from three to seven in number. 

 The birds call regularly from February to 

 April, when some idea of their abundance 

 may be gained. After the nesting season 

 they become quiet and are seldom seen, as 

 they rest quietly by day and are detected 

 only by chance. 



This owl feeds on mice and insects, occa- 

 sionally taking small birds. At irregular in- 

 tervals considerable numbers of saw-whet 

 owls come south in winter beyond their 



