1877.] 131 - IBendke. 



shot by Lieut. D. Cornman, U. S. A., among a' number of C. mex- 

 icanus. 



100. Otus vulgaris var. wilsonianus (Less.). Long-eared 

 Owl. 



Moderately abundant and resident, frequenting the dense willow 

 thickets along the streams, and here constructing their own nests. 

 At Fort Lapwai, Idaho, they occupy the old nests of the Corvus 

 caurinus when not too much ' exposed to light, and also breed in 

 hollow cottonwood trees, the entrance to the nest being often very 

 small, with barely room for the bird to enter. The average number 

 of eggs in sixteen nests is five, occasionally six. Most of the nests 

 were lined with feathers. When occupying old nests they build up 

 the sides, so that these are always deeper than ordinary crows' nests, 

 hiding the bird from view below. They commence laying about 

 April 15. 



101. Otus brachyotus (Steph.). Short-eared Owl. 



Not nearly so common as the preceding species, and only a summer 

 resident, confining itself to the marshes near Malheur Lake. One 

 of my men brought me two sets of eggs of this owl found May 28, 

 1876, in a large swamp eight miles east of the post, and one of the 

 birds. The nests were on the ground on the side of, and partly cov- 

 ered by, bunches of rye grass, and on slightly elevated ground in the 

 marsh, with three fresh eggs each, the birds not having finished lay- 

 ing. This species breeds also about Fort Lapwai, Idaho, where I 

 took two of their nests on May 1 and 6, 1871. Both were found in 

 swampy places, and constructed of dry grasses and a few feathers . 

 The eggs of this species are not of a clear white, though this may be 

 their color when first laid, but have a yellowish tinge. A set of 

 three measure 1.60 X 1.20, 1.57 X 1-20 and 1.52 X 1.21 of an inch. 



102. Nyetale acadica (Bonap.). Saw-whet Owl. 



Only taken during very cold weather in the winter. Several have 

 been brought to me alive in a starved condition, and I only succeeded 

 in keeping one for any length of time. This I fed at first on live 

 mice, the only thing it would touch, but after awhile it ate the car- 

 casses of birds, and would eat twice its own weight in a day. If sev- 

 eral whole birds were thrown into its cage it would eat the heads of 

 all of them first,, and hide the bodies in the corners of the cage, cov- 

 ering them up with loose feathers. Once I put a red winged black- 

 bird, perfectly unharmed, in the cage with it, which it at once killed. 

 Flying to its perch it grasped it with two of its toes in front and two 



