342 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



fish, together with several pine knots lying around it. The eggs were depos- 

 ited on some rotten wood and feathers from the sitting birds. I think the bird 

 which laid these eggs is a very old one, and the nest has been occupied for sev- 

 eral years. The latest date on which I found eggs of these birds was on 

 March 10, when a set of two fresh eggs were taken, one, of rather large 

 size, measuring 53.3 by 42.2, the other a runt egg, which measures 39.1 by 

 by 34.5 millimetres. I believe this to be a second laying. The runt egg 

 contained a yolk and would probably have hatched. The site was in the 

 hollow of a partly decayed pine stump, about 1 5 feet from the ground. The 

 cavity was about 1 foot deep and 10 inches in diameter. A number of other 

 nests of this subspecies were examined by me, most of which contained 

 young, and the nesting sites were similar to those already described. 



"I found these birds already mated on my arrival at San Mateo, on 

 January 13, 1891, and they were making a great deal of noige every night, 

 which they kept up until the nights began to grow dark during the last 

 of the month, when they gradually ceased, and for about ten days previous 

 to February 14, they were hardly heard. On that date they began calling 

 again, though not so much as at first, and since then they have made a good 

 deal of noise on some nights, while on others they hardly uttered a note. 



"The mating season of the Florida Barred Owl begins usually about 

 the 1st of January, perhaps a week or two earlier in some seasons, and their 

 eggs are generally deposited during February. According to my observation 

 they always lay one or two eggs, usually the latter number. Both sexes 

 assist in incubation and in the care of the single brood raised. As a rule 

 they are not very solicitous about their homes, but fully as much, if not more 

 so, at least so far as the young are concerned, as the Great Horned Owls. 

 The young owlets when first hatched are covered with a fluffy white down 

 and grow rapidly. When about a week old the first pinfeathers commence 

 to show on the wings and back, while at the age of a month they are fairly 

 well feathered throughout, the plumage being of a very loose and soft struc- 

 ture; the primaries being about half the normal size, but the tail feathers are 

 correspondingly much shorter and still hidden by the down. I believe they 

 are able to leave the nest when about six weeks old. 



"Their food consists of the smaller mammals, such as rabbits, squirrels, 

 gophers, rats and, mice, as well as fish and crawfish, and I believe they some- 

 times catch snakes and frogs. They rarely capture birds or poultry, and are 

 far more beneficial than otherwise." 



In southern Florida nidification occasionally takes place in December, 

 but more frequently in January, Mr. J. F. Menge writing me that he had found 

 two nests with young on February 15, 1890, in the vicinity of Myers, Lee 

 County, Florida. One of these contained a single young bird, the other two, 

 nearly full grown and about ready to leave the nest. 



In southern Louisiana Mr. G. E. Beyer found Barred Owls, which are 

 probably referable to this race, nesting early in March, and laying from two 



