The Screech Owls 
are laid upon the rotten wood or chippings left by the last occupant. 
The female is a very close sitter, requiring to be lifted from the eggs, if 
incubation has progressed; while the male, when not actually sharing the 
nesting cavity with his mate, is usually to be found in some nearby 
cranny. 
Mr. Benjamin F. Gault tells an amusing instance 1 of the Otine 
reluctance at leaving a happy home. The narrator had found in an old 
Flicker hole near Riverside, Illinois, a Screech Owl with four young. 
“The mother bird appeared dazed when brought to the light, and singu¬ 
larly enough in taking 
her from the nest the 
entire brood was also re¬ 
moved at the same time, 
she having instinctively 
grasped one of the 
young, that one another 
and so on until they all 
became attached, and 
they certainly presented 
a ludicrous sight as they 
came dangling out of the 
hole, each retaining a 
firm hold of the other; 
but the youngsters 
finally dropped off and 
tumbled to the ground.” 
Incubation lasts 
about three weeks, and 
the young are blind 
when hatched. They 
are covered with a thick 
white down, like chick¬ 
ens; and like chickens, 
they will peep lustily if 
disturbed. Of course 
they are voracious eaters 
and so importunate in 
their demands, that the 
hard-working parents 
are required to lay up a 
Taken in Oregon Photo by A. W. Anthony 
MACFARLANE SCREECH OWL 
1 Quoted by Bendire, Life His¬ 
tories, Vol. I., p. 362. 
HO? 
