98 
OKNITIIOLOCUIST [Vol. 7-No. 13. 
fornia it is generally regarded, as it is, as a 
harmless and veiy useful bird, and is very 
seldom molested or killed,—its tameness 
and great numbers, no doubt, being the re¬ 
sults of this wise treatment. This owl is 
not large, yet it must be a very strong and 
courageous bird,-as evinced liy the fact that 
I have often found, in its burrows, portions 
of the large Jackass Hare (Lej)us californi- 
cus), or “ Narrow Gauged Mule,”—as pop- 
iilarly known in California. 
At night one often sees this bird fl}ung 
noiselessly about over the streets, at a 
height varying from ten to fifty feet, and 
uttering, at inteiwals, a lo\xd, harsh scream, 
which, as far as I could ascertain, is the 
only note or noise made by this owl, except 
a loud hissing noise which it makes if dis¬ 
turbed while on its nest. 
Mr. Gentry says, in his “ Life-Histories 
of Birds”: “ At night, when emerging ■ 
from its hidden reti'eat. is heard a loud lu¬ 
gubrious note which apju'oximately resem¬ 
bles waro hoo." I am sure I never heard 
this species utter such a note, and do not 
think it belongs to this owl,—in Califor¬ 
nia, at least. 
I am inclined to the belief that the notes 
of the various owls have, in some instan¬ 
ces, been coupled with the wrong species. 
The hissing noise which they make when 
one attempts to dnve them from their nests, 
very much resembles that made by the 
BuiTowing Owl, as mentioned by Capt. 
Charles E. Bendire in his most excellent 
article on that owl in the August O. and O., 
and as I myself have often noticed, this 
“hissing, rattling noise" is much stronger 
and coarser than that made by the Bur¬ 
rowing Owl. however. 
In the vicinity of Santa Paula the Bani 
Owl begins nesting early in February. The 
first nest I found last winter was on Feb¬ 
ruary 27th, when it contained six eggs in 
some of which embryotic changes had be¬ 
gun at least six days before, which would 
])ut the beginning of oviposition about the 
Ifith of Febriniry. The site selected for the 
nest is most usually a hole or crack in the 
wall of a baranca or cliff. During the past 
season, I examined more than thirty nests, 
at least five-sixths of which were thus loca¬ 
ted. The entrance to these holes, if in ba- 
rancas, is usually eight to ten feet from the 
surface of the ground; if in cliff’s, any 
suitable place on the face is selected. The 
caHty usually extends inward nearly hori¬ 
zontally for a foot or more, then bends 
downward slightly, continuing at that an¬ 
gle for two to thi'ee feet. 
[Completed in next number.] 
Rough Legged Buzzard. 
As the Winter of 1879 and ’80 seemed to 
be a remarkable year for the apjiearance of 
the Bohemian Waxwing, so did the Winter 
of 1880 and ’81 prove to be remarkable - 
for the numbers of the Hough Legged Buz- ' 
zard in this section. Of eight specimens 
that came into mj' possession no two were 
alilce in marking. They varied in size from 
that of a small Cooper’s Hawk to that of 
the largest Red Tail. Of the finest one, a 
male, was very small and nearly black. A 
second, a female, of tremendous size and 
nearly black. A third, a medium sized 
male, of a dee]) chocolate browm, inter¬ 
mixed xrith a rich buff—an exceedingly 
han<lsome hawk. Others were taken here 
during tliis ])eriod. Querie.—Mdiat will 
the season of ’81 and '82 bring forth 
— Frdnk S. Wrirjht, Auburn, Y. ^ 
To Mexsure .vn Ego exactly, sink it in a 
level bed of fine sand, moistened, until it 
is half buried (or, technically, until its ex¬ 
tremes. and consequently its longitudinal 
axis, are exactly ffush. as may readily be^ 
determined, with the surface of the bed); 
then, either measure with compasses the 
egg, thus firmly and definitely fixed, or, 
removing it, measure with a rule, laid flat, 
its im|)ression. This, for a delicate egg, 
may first be sha])ed by the finger. Tlio 
above method ought to ensure ease and 
certaintv. — //. /A Jfinol. 
I 
