Pennock, on Burrowing Owl 
21 
FLORIDA BURROWING O 
{Steotijfo florldaua fioridana, Ridgway) 
C. J. PENNOCK 
KENNETT SQUARE^ PA. 
Never having l)eeii in Southern Florida nntil tlie ]>a8t winter, 
1921-22, I was unacquainted with the prairie region of that 
section of the state. During a recent stay at Punta Gorda at 
the head of the great sheet of salt water Charlotte Harbor, witli 
headquarters there froin February 1th to April 18th, 1921, sev- 
eral excursions were made to two of these low, treeless plains. 
The nearest is north-east about eight miles ; the other 20 miles 
east. Both tracts are of small area; the former coutaiuiug 
perhaps three square miles of irregular contour and traversed by 
at least tAvo public roads ; the other is three or four miles long 
and varies from one-half to two miles or more in width and 
has a railroad and a much traveled highway traversing it for 
most of its length. The soil is quite sandy and except for occas- 
ional tracts of a harsh, fine grass little vegetation is sustained 
except the abundant crop of Scrub Palmetto {^a~bal serrulata) . 
So far as the public roads may have infiuence on the presence 
of these interesting birds it was found that most of the birds 
under observation seemed to ])refer a close proximity thereto. 
No explanation is evident. The roads were not appreciably 
higher than the surrounding district, all of which was lower 
than the adjacent timbered tracts and by the testimony of 
numerous residents, during the rainy season — June, July, and 
August — these “ prairies ” are subject to being, and usually 
are, flooded for a considerable time, so that the Owls must rear 
their young before the rains prevail. In this connection it may 
be stated that a small and rather scattered colony of the Owls 
was discovered in an open tract that had formerly been timbered 
but from which the trees had been cut a good many years and 
barring a very few scattered, stunted, \nue saplings no groAvth 
appeared higher than the Ioav scrub Ihilmetto so abundant all 
over this portion of Florida. 
It is the general opinion among tlie limited number of 
resident people who are at all acquainted with this oavI that they 
either hihernate or move aAvay sonieAvhere during the Avinter 
season. The only evidence found bearing on the point Avas 
fresh excavating of earth in February and early March which 
was suggested as folloAving their period of rest and that during 
