The Great Gray Owl 
landmark and through a fine forest of red fir. On the previous days’ 
attendance of this line, distant glimpses were had, morning or evening, 
of a large bird in silent flight among the trees. On the day of discovery, 
however, the diminutive kinglet pointed the way and really deserves all the 
credit. From a distance through the forest came the low but insistent 
wer-rup , wer-rup, wer-rup of a Ruby-crown, its unmistakable note of 
anxiety. This clue was traced by the expectant naturalist to a tall fir, out 
from near the summit of which there presently flew a great owl. The bird 
alighted at the top of a Jeffrey pine nearby, where it was shot, and (giving 
several deep-pitched who o' s ), fell to the ground wounded. At this, another 
owl appeared in flight from one fir top to another, and was also secured. 
“For purposes of photography the wounded bird was taken back to 
camp alive. Its huge facial discs, each centered by a great yellow-irised 
eye, its snapping bill, and its spasmodically clenching claws, all contrib¬ 
uted to profound respect on our part when handling it, and in securing 
pictures. 
“On succeeding days when a careful search of the vicinity was made, 
a large nest of sticks, one hundred feet above the ground on the close-set 
branches of a fir next to the trunk, was found, which, it is thought, be¬ 
longed to the owls. No close examination of it was made. On June 19 in 
the same stretch of woods the deep notes of an owl were heard three times 
repeated, but the bird could not be located. This time the kinglets failed us. 
“The two specimens secured proved to be male and female, probably 
a mated pair. As is usual with owls, the female was slightly larger, meas¬ 
uring: total length 595 millimeters (nearly two feet); expanse of wings 
1370 millimeters (four and one-half feet). The male measured: length 
580 millimeters; expanse 1350. In both birds the iris was bright straw 
yellow; bill greenish, becoming yellow towards tip; claws lead-color, 
darkening towards tips. The stomach of each bird was empty. 
“As an indubitable indication of her breeding during the current 
nesting season, the female was found to have a large bare tract on the 
lower surface of her body, including the belly and insides of the thighs, 
from which the larger feathers had all been removed. Associated with 
this condition, directly beneath the bare skin, were layers of fat, though 
the bird was otherwise lean. As is well known, many birds show, during 
the nesting season, the same or similar adaptations for the better perform¬ 
ance of the functions of incubation. The male Great Gray Owl lacked 
any such modifications, and we may infer that in this species the female 
alone performs the duty of incubation. The reproductive organs of both the 
birds indicated that the time of actual egg-laying was long past. It seems 
more than likely that a brood of young had been reared in the vinicity and, 
approaching maturity, had scattered out through the adjacent woods. 
1098 
