A Saw-whet Owl’s Nest. 
As the nest of this bird ( Nyctale acadica) is 
quite rare, I will describe one which I found 
this season, thinking it may interest some of 
the readers of the O. and O. The 16th of May 
found me in a large tract of woods hunting for 
a nest of a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers which 
I knew were breeding in the vicinity. Al- 
though I was unsuccessful in finding what I 
was particularly in search of, I stumbled upon 
a nest which pleased me far more. 
Out of curiosity I visited a stub from which 
a set of Pileated Woodpecker’s eggs were taken 
two years ago. The large round hole from 
which the eggs had been taken was visible at 
some distance, and after passing behind some 
trees I was much surprised to see this hole filled 
with some grey substance. Upon a nearer ap- 
proach I discovei 
the head of a Sa' 
stub and shouted 
she only sat the: 
loss to determine 
Finding that .' 
from the nest, I 
pared to “shin” i)IjOGTST. 155 
easy task as the 
and the nest wa^ 
and there was n( 
I began to asceni 
lit in another t 
from where she On May 1, 1889, I started out determined to 
considerable hai take a look for hawks, and also to keep my eyes 
was delighted tq open for signs of nests of the Crow, Ruffed 
Grouse, Woodpeckers, or other early breeders. 
I first struck out for a small swamp, in which 
were some large pine and oak trees, and a few 
hemlocks. I went up to two nests here, and 
found both filled with leaves, evidently the 
home of squirrels. 
I then started out for higher land, and, after 
’ Nesting of the Saw-whet or Acadian 
Owl. 
it. The hole w 
and was lined w 
tell whether th- 
feathers of son 
reach into the h 
not carry my i 
had to bring the 
mouth. The eg tramping for about two hours, and going up 
though pretty 1 to a number of nests in pine trees with the 
. — rtl- T /I Antilorl f A XT! L'l f O 
They measure adWSf < 
O & O.Xn.Qct. 1837 P. / 7* 
General Notes. 
Another Record of the Breeding of the Saw-whet Owl {Nyctale acadica ) 
m Eastern Massachusetts— As there are still but few records of the 
breeding of the Saw-whet Owl in eastern Massachusetts, I take pleasure 
in adding one more. 
° n J ul y 3 > lS Q 3 , Ml-. Gerrit S. Miller, Jr., and I were setting a line of 
traps in a heavy white pine swamp that lies along Red Brook in the town 
of Wareham, Mass. We noticed a large old pine stump which was broken 
off at about 25 feet above the ground and full of Woodpeckers’ holes, and 
pounded on it. We had pounded but once or twice when a Saw-whet 
Owl popped her head out of the uppermost hole and kept it there 
motionless, although I fired at her three times with my pistol. The third 
shot killed her and she fell back into the hole. 
^ ^ On taking the bird out, I found there was a nest containing seven eggs. 
Ihe nest was quite bulky and composed of gray moss {Usnea ) interwoven 
with small pieces of fibrous bark, a few pine needles, small twigs, and 
feathers of the bird herself. The hole in which the nest was found was 
i8 feet from the ground and about 8 inches deep. 
In the nest besides the eggs was a half eaten red-backed mouse {Evo- 
tomys gafi fieri) . 
Three of the eggs were in various stages of incubation, one being on the 
point of hatching,— in fact the young bird had already cracked the shell. 
Three were addled, and one was perfectly fresh. 
On dissecting the old bird we found that she had laid her full set of 
eggs. Her stomach contained the other half of the Evotomys , which she 
was apparently eating when we disturbed her. 
I believe the only other records for Massachusetts are : — 
’Probable breeding of the Acadian Owl {Nyctale acadica) in Massa- 
chusetts.’ R. Deane, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, Vol. II, July, 1877, P- 84. 
Three specimens in first plumage are recorded, — one, taken June 28, 1876, 
at Newton, Mass., one at Hingham, Mass., July 5, 1876, and one July 8, 
IS76. 
‘Breeding of the Acadian Owl in Eastern Massachusetts.’ N. A. Francis 
Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, Vol. VI, July, 1881, p. 185. Nest with five young 
found June 4, 1880, at Braintree, Mass. 
‘Breeding of the Acadian Owl (. Nyctale acadica) in Massachusetts.’ Bull. 
Nutt. Orn. Club, Vol. VI, July, 1881, pp. 143-145. Account by William 
Brewster of nest with four eggs taken at Tyngsboro’, Mass., April 5, 1881, 
by W. B. Perham. Ibid., Jan., 1882, pp. 23-25. Additional notes on nest- 
ing at iyngsboro , by W. B. Perham, who found seven nests in all. 
‘Ornithologist and Oologist,’ Vol. XIV, Oct., 1889, pp. 155-156. Record 
of nest with four eggs, well advanced in incubation, taken at Dunstable, 
Mass., May 1, 1889, by C. W. Swallow. 
In connection with this see also account of four nests found at Holland 
Patent, N. Y-, by Egbert Bagg, in ‘Ornithologist and Oologist,’ Vol. XII, 
No. 4, April, 1887, P- 57.— Outram Bangs, Wareham , Mass. 
Auk XI. Jan. 1894 p. 77-78 
Taking out my box I packed the four eggs 
snugly away, and found that the nest was made 
of feathers, the top of chips, and that it con- 
tained part of a mouse for future use. 
The nest was about six inches from the hole, 
and it may possibly have been a Flicker’s old 
nest, but I hardly think so. 
I succeeded in blowing tlie eggs fairly, but 
incubation was pretty well advanced. They 
resemble the eggs of other owls very much, 
but are not as spherical as those of most 
species. The measurements are as follows: 
1.32x1.05, 1.33x1.04, 1.30x1.03, 1.25 x.99. 
Cl. W. Swallow. 
Dunstable, Mass. 
The Preference of the Brown-headed 
Nuthatch for a Nesting Site near 
Water. 
Mr. Davie, in his Nests and Eggs of North 
American Birds, records the finding of a nest 
in a hole in a stump, standing in a pond, by 
Mr. Noble of Savannah, Ga., hut does not other- 
wise indicate the preference of the Brown- 
headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla) as to high or 
low localities, and this leads me to give my 
experience, which is, that when the nesting 
time comes, tlie place to look for nests is 
along tlie creek banks, around the edges of 
ponds and such places. One nest found in 
1885 was in a fence post on a hill some 
thirty yards above a swamp. 
Of three nests found in 1887 two were on 
the uplands, and one in a stump standing in 
water. 
Of five nests found in 1888, one was on the 
uplands, and four in stumps standing in or 
close to water. 
Of six nests with eggs found in 1889, three 
were in stumps standing in water, and three 
more in stumps close to water. 
The birds also commenced to line their 
holes in four other stubs, and to dig holes in two 
more in 1889, of which two stood in water and 
four close by ; a nest witli young was also found 
in a stump in the creek, bottom standing in 
water. 
Thus of twenty-two nesting sites which 
have come under my observation, eighteen 
stood in or near water, and four were on the 
uplands, thus showing a great preference for 
damp localities. Now let other Southern 
collectors come forward and say what is the 
Nuthatches’ preference in their localities. 
C. S. Brim leg. 
Raleigh, N. C. 
/Z2- 
