The American Barn Owl 



what their outlook, pro- 

 vided only that the local 

 accommodations are con- 

 venient. For this reason 

 Tyto occasionally figures 

 as a seabird. Certain 

 favored cliffs of sand- 

 stone in the inner coast 

 ranges fairly swarm with 

 Barn Owls, and their 

 presence may be known 

 by the generous smears 

 of "whitewash" which 

 decorate the skirts of 

 long frequented ledges. 

 Next after cliffs come the 

 steep-walled barrancas, 

 those sharp-cut dis- 

 charge-pipes which gash 

 our alluvial fans, or pur- 

 sue a somber course to 

 the sea. Here, and along 

 the banks of rivers, the 

 Barn Owls rest and doze 

 "in quantities." They 

 are able to dig their own 

 retreats, generous tunnels driven to a depth of three or four feet, and 

 under such circumstances are unmolested by that tyrant of the cliffs, the 

 Prairie Falcon. Even here there is danger at flood time. A friend's 

 friend, who happened to be near the San Juan River (in San Luis Obispo 

 County) when the stream was on the rampage, heard a muffled crash, and 

 looking up, saw a frantic Barn Owl emerge from a tunnel, whose innermost 

 recess had been barely spared by the caving bank. Several other birds, to 

 the observer's belief, were carried down helpless by neighboring disasters. 



In default of more stately quarters the birds will also seek hollows in 

 trees, while in many regions they have to comfort themselves, for roosting 

 at least, with nothing better than thick foliage. Now and then I have 

 startled Barn Owls from the innermost depths of Phoenix palms, and I 

 have no doubt that our native palms of the desert (Washingtonia filifera) 

 harbor their quota. 



Of course the nesting places are in part identical with the roosting 

 places. The first token of occupation, present or past, is the flamboyant 



Taken in San Diego County 



A LANGUID PRETENSE OF DECOYING 



I075 



