Nov., 1906 | 
M3 
The Kennicott Screech Owl 
BY J. H. BOWT.ES 
T HE Kennicott screech owl ( Scops asio kenmcotli) is a tolerably common 
resident thruout the year in northwestern Washington. It is seldom 
found in the higher altitudes or in heavily wooded regions, but is most fre- 
quently to be met with in river valleys and in the oak-sprinkled prairie country, 
usually in the immediate vicinity of water. 
Exceedingly sociable in their disposition towards mankind, these birds are fre- 
quently seen in the cities, and all the nests I have ever examined were but a very 
short distance from houses. On one occasion at an evening lawn party in the city, 
one of these owls spent more than half an hour catching what I am positive were 
angle-worms. He would swoop down onto the lawn and stay for perhaps a min- 
ute, returning each time either to one of a small group of maples or to the roof of 
the house. It was too dark to distinguish what he was catching, but he paid no 
more attention to the people walking near him than an occasional turn of the head, 
busying himself with poking about in the short grass with his bill. 
These birds appear to see perfectly well in the daytime, tho before dusk most of 
their time is spent in the thickets of small firs and maples. When come upon sud- 
denly at such times the}’ eye the intruder vigilantly until he approaches within ten 
or a dozen feet, and then fly swiftly and silently out of sight. 
A bird sitting on heavily incubated eggs always appears to be in a kind of 
torpor when lifted from the nest, and is certainly the sleepiest looking and acting 
creature imaginable. vShe keeps her eyes shut all the time and may be handled 
with impunity, never struggling or attempting to get away. 
If the eggs are fresh, however, her actions are somewhat different, as may be 
seen from the following notes taken by my brother, Mr. C. W. Bowles, concerning 
a nest with four partly incubated eggs. 
“One bird was sitting in a tree about one hundred and fifty feet away watch- 
ing my actions closely, but remained perfectly motionless with the exception of its 
head. The sitting bird, when taken from the nest and tossed into the air, flew 
without any hesitation to where her mate was sitting. While flying she snapped 
her beak repeatedly, but neither bird made any noise afterward.” 
The high-keyed, tremulous hooting cry of these birds is, strangely enough, 
most often heard during the fall months. In spring and summer, tho repeat- 
edly spending the night in localities where they were tolerably abundant, I have 
never heard them utter a note of any description. 
During the greater part of the year these owls are entirely beneficial, their 
food consisting mostly of mice. Large beetles are often added, and nearly every 
small stream shows signs of where an owl has successfully angled for craw-fish, 
carefully splitting and picking the meat from the shell. After the eggs are 
hatched, however, the parents are at their wit's end to procure food enough for the 
hungry babies, and it is at this season only that birds are used in the bill of fare. 
The northwestern flicker seems to be found especially delectable, tho feathers of 
the Steller jay, western robin and a few other species are sometimes found in the 
hole with the young. Curiously enough it is most unusual to find remains of 
juncos, sparrows or other small-sized birds; and, all things considered, these owls 
unquestionably do many times as much good as they do harm. 
The location chosen for a nesting site is invariably in a clearing; in one case a 
fir stub standing alone in a city lot was the somewhat unwise selection. The nest 
