SHADOWY BIRDS OF THE NIGHT 



235 



usual range, probably through shortage of 

 their food supply. On such occasions some 

 are thin and emaciated from lack of food, 

 and the birds often appear in unusual locali- 

 ties. Even when in good condition they are 

 frequently captured by hand, as they are 

 so unsuspicious as to appear stupid. It is 

 even possible at times to stroke them with- 

 out causing alarm. 



The saw-whet owl (Cryptoglaux a. aca- 

 dica) nests from southern Alaska, Alberta, 

 and Nova Scotia to California, Arizona, and 

 Mexico, and in the East to the northern 

 United States, coming as far as western 

 Maryland in the mountains. In winter it 

 goes casually as far as Louisiana and Geor- 

 gia. The Queen Charlotte owl {Crypto- 

 glaux a. brooksi), darker in color, is con- 

 fined to the Queen Charlotte Islands, Brit- 

 ish Columbia. 



Richardson's Owl 



{Cryptoglaux junerea richardsoni) 



This relative of the saw-whet owl is a 

 northern bird that nests north of the United 

 States, ranging widely through forested 

 areas from eastern Canada to Alaska. Like 

 the related species, it is rather strictly noc- 

 turnal and even in the far north, where day- 

 light in summer is long, it appears sluggish 

 except when it is dark. The Eskimos, ac- 

 cording to Dr. E. W. Nelson, believe that 

 it cannot see by day and call it tuk-whe- 

 linguk, "the blind one" (see page 236). 



It is certain that the birds are tame to 

 a point where they seem stupid, because, 

 when they come in winter to more southern 

 regions where they are in contact with man, 

 they are often caught by hand. One New 

 England lady, seeing a ball of feathers hang- 

 ing on her clothesline, was astonished to dis- 

 cover that it was a Richardson's owl, alive. 

 When captured, the birds are passive and 

 offer no resistance. 



Richardson's owl is an inhabitant of tim- 

 bered areas, though where large trees are 

 lacking, as in the Yukon Delta in Alaska, 

 it frequents willow thickets. It nests in 

 May and June in holes in trees, or in the 

 deserted nests of other birds, laying from 

 four to six eggs. Its food is mice, insects, 

 and small birds, and it comes south in winter 

 when a shortage of mice deprives it of this 

 food supply. At such times it is found fre- 

 quently about farm buildings, and many 

 seem to starve, as those captured are often 

 thin and poor. 



At intervals they are very common during 

 winter in the woods of Maine and elsewhere 

 in New England, but as yet there is no 

 record of their nesting within United States 

 territory aside from Alaska. The southern 

 invasions are governed by periodic shortages 

 of mice in the north, as then the owls must 

 migrate or starve. 



Richardson's owl ranges from the tree 

 line in Alaska, Yukon, and Mackenzie to 

 northern British Columbia and Nova Scotia. 

 In winter it is found casually to Oregon, 

 Colorado, and New England, while its bones 

 have been identified in ancient cave deposits 

 in New Mexico. Tengmalm's owl {Crypto- 

 glaux f. magna), a closely related form of 

 eastern Siberia, has been taken on St. Paul 

 Island, of the Pribilof group, Alaska. 



American Hawk Owl 



{Surnia ulula caparodh) 



A long tail and slender body mark the 

 curious hawk owl of the north from all our 

 other species of owls, though comparatively 

 few persons see it, as its range in the main 

 is in the vast forests of Canada and Alaska, 

 where human habitations are widely scat- 

 tered (see page 237). 



The hawk owl is much more conspicuous 

 than any other forest owl, as it rests reg- 

 ularly on the top of a tall dead stub or some 

 other commanding perch, where, in broad 

 day, it is entirely in the open. Added to 

 this, it has the habit of jerking its tail nerv- 

 ously like a sparrow hawk, a movement that 

 aids in attracting attention to the bird. 

 Ability to hunt by day or night is truly an 

 advantage to a species of the north where 

 day is long in summer and night equally 

 extended in winter. 



These owls are entirely fearless, and there 

 is no difficulty in approaching them within 

 gunshot. Though seen constantly in the 

 open, they are flushed occasionally from 

 thickets of aspen and willow. 



The notes are described as a rolling trill, 

 and when the birds are disturbed about 

 their nests the hawk owls utter chattering 

 calls and other sounds of protest. 



Heavily feathered to the tips of its toes, 

 this species is entirely unmindful of cold, so 

 that it remains in the far north throughout 

 the winter, coming south in numbers only 

 in those years when mice, lemmings, and 

 other small mammals are scarce. Even then 

 the hawk owl remains as far north as pos- 

 sible, unlike the snowy owl and other 



