July, 1892.] 
AND OOLOG-IST. 
105 
The Color Phenomena of the Little 
Screech Owl. 
Much lias been written, more lias been said, 
and more than both combined has been the 
unexpressed speculation in the minds of nearly 
all American ornithologists on the still mooted 
and undecided color phenomena, occurring in 
the Little Muttering or Screech Owl. I have 
thought much on the subject in days that are 
past and gone when I was active as an orni- 
thologist and whenever I would chance to see 
one of these stupid, grewsome little birds, 
my first observation always would naturally 
be, — its color. 
Not long ago an incident occured which 
enabled me to make some pretty accurate 
observations and deductions on this point, 
This spring, I think it was toward the 
latter part of May, I went on a brief visit to my 
old home in Wayne County, calling on my old 
friend Mr. J. B. Purdy, together we went for 
a stroll in some neighboring woodland 
Following my friend close in a thicket, well 
guarded from the direct rays of the sun, were 
discovered several young of the foregoing 
species. They were just able to leave the nest 
and were perched on the lower branches of 
small bushes but a few feet from the ground 
I think four of the young were discovered in 
all, and all were in the gray phase of coloring 
Soon our attention was directed to a peculiar 
low cooing sound, alternating with the sharp 
snap, snap, of the beaks of the parent Owls 
made apprehensious by our close proximity to 
their young. Our immediate thought was to 
discover the old birds, and determine also 
their color. With small trouble they were 
found, as soon they came quite close, uttering 
all the while, that wired coo, coo, coo, snap 
snap; first one bird, then the other. I noted 
no variation in the warning note of the male 
and female. Both were in the gray phase. 
Soon one of the birds flew- to a stub hard by 
and dodged into a small natural cavity near 
the top and there it sat, its head alone visible 
and although it soon ceased its cry, never for 
a moment did its eyes wander from us, 
wondering, perhaps, in its dumb instinctive 
way, what the probable results of our discov- 
ery would be regarding the ultimate safety of 
its offspring. 
Soon a flock of small birds, Tanagers, Nut- 
hatches, Gnatcatcliers, etc., collected about 
this stub, where the Owl sat so statue like, 
and set up a great din, seeking uo'jdoubt, to 
frighten the “squaller” away. Not daring to 
offer any direct violence, I thought of the 
simile it presented to human birds; the early 
settlers, those brave, hardy men, who, braving 
and daring all, went westward and established 
themselves at Boonesborough, and, not with- 
standing the continued tlireatenings of the 
savage hordes who swarmed in the unbroken 
woodlands Those dusky men who feared not 
to plunge deep into the vast solemn solitude of 
the mighty forest, but, brave and savage as 
they were, they have, one and all, succumbed 
to the unresisting advance of enliglitment and 
civilization. First the red man, than the white 
man, white man forever. 
The Owl was but one; the small birds were 
many, but the Owl was wise, was fortified, 
and as well might the Indians have hoped to 
dislodge Boone and his sturdy followers by 
shooting wooden and reed arrows at a strong 
log lodge, as the small, noisy birds to dislodge 
the Owl. He may have been vexed and 
worried at their attempts, but the idea of 
capitulating never entered his head, probably. 
The above observations may throw some 
light on this subject. Some have regarded 
the variation due to sex alone, some to age, 
others to seasons of the year or locality, while 
others claiming, and I believe rightly, 
that it is simply the nature of the bird. Some 
to be gray, some to be red, although Mr. 
Purdy informs me of all the young he has 
ever examined, all have been gray. I once 
took six young Owls of this species from the 
nest, and all were gray. They were yet in the 
downy plumage. Why there should be a 
deposit of pigment in some and not in others, 
is to us a mystery, as is many another fact 
occurring in nature. 
I should be pleased to see in the columns of 
this valuable medium the results of other 
observers’ observations and their theories, for 
by individual testimony much of a valuable 
nature may be added, and by this we may be 
able more readily to arrive at precise 
definite conclusions. 
man of Washington, 
direct and scientific 
solution that way. 
success. 
W. C. 
Morrice, Mich., June 17, 1892. 
and 
I see a certain gentle- 
D. C., is making some 
experiments, seeking a 
My wish for him is 
Brownell, M. D. 
Early in July, we mailed notices to all whose 
subscription expired. Many have responded 
promptly. We find that there are still quite a 
number to hear from. 
Q.& O Vol.17, July, 1892 p.105 
