48 
BIRDS OF DURHAM AND VICINITY. 
Syrnium nebulosum. Barked Owl. 368. 
Barred Owls are prcsumal^ly residents during the year, but I have 
seen them only in winter when they appear to be more abundant than 
any other species. Alice contribute large)}' to their sustenance ; moles, 
shrews, birds, and insects are also taken to a limited extent. The nest 
is usually built in a hollow tree some time in April. A small female 
that was brought to me in the spring of 1898, was so light colored as 
to suggest a snowy owl. It was smaller than any male I ever saw% 
though, as is well known, females are usually larger than males. 
Nyctala tengmalmi richardsoni. Richardson's Owl. 371. 
Richardson's is the rarest owl that I have to record. It is an Arctic 
species, seldom seen anywhere in this state. Some years ago one was 
killed in the city of Dover, and now is in the collection of Mr. Went- 
worth of that city. In its general appearance, this owl resembles the 
Saw-whet, though it is slightly larger. 
Nyctala acadica. Saw-whkt Owl. 372. 
just how abundant Saw-wliets are, is hard to say because they are 
such little fellows that it is like hunting for a needle in a hay mow to 
look for one. They are residents throughout the year, but like all of 
their kind they are generally seen only in winter. 
Their food habits are above reproach, mice and insects being the 
larger part of their food. I have seen two liere in four years. The 
first was disclosed to me by some chickadees which were making a 
good deal of disturbance in a small pine perhaps ten feet high. The 
pine, which was quite dense, seemed literally alive with chickadees. 
They would come into the tree from the farther side, pass through it 
and come out looking alert and slick, all the while saying dee, dee, dee, 
as if very much agitated. After each chickadee had passed through 
the tree, he would alight near by, for a moment, and then return to 
take his place in this continuous performance of keeping a steady flow^ 
of scolding titmice through the tree. Look as I would, I could not 
discern the cause of agitation, and presently, I went close to the tree, 
when out popped a Saw-v/het Owl in great haste to gain the woods, 
w'hich he did with alacrity, followed by the whole troupe of chickadees. 
I waited, hoping they would find him again, but he evidently made 
good his escape, for I heard no more complaint from his tormentors. 
About the twentieth of March, 1899, ^^"^^ ^"^^^ several inches 
of snow, followed b}' rain, which froze as it fell until a crust of ice 
