The Burrowing Owl 
fullest height, outwardly calm and self-contained, pausing in the discourse 
to note its effect upon the audience, and collect their wits for the next 
rhetorical flourish. And no distant likeness between these frothy orators 
and others is found in the celerity with which they subside and seek their 
holes on the slightest intimation of danger.” 
These curious Owls are alone among the northern land birds in the 
choice of subterranean dwellings. On the Great Plains they avail them¬ 
selves largely of deserted prairie dog holes, but in California their choice 
falls oftenest upon the burrows of the ever present ground squirrels 
(Citellus sp.). Badger holes are also great favorites, but no offering of 
the lesser rodents is despised. It is probable that the Burrowing Owl 
does not originate its 
burrow, although in the 
case of the smaller ro¬ 
dents the tunnels require 
to be enlarged. This 
the bird does, not with 
its beak, but with its 
powerful claws, loosen¬ 
ing the dirt and kicking 
it backward by succes¬ 
sive stages, until it is 
ejected at the entrance. 
A typical burrow may 
descend sharply three or 
four feet, then turn and 
pursue a slightly ascend¬ 
ing course until an ample 
nesting chamber, a foot 
or more in width and 
six inches deep, is 
reached. Some tunnels 
are much more extend¬ 
ed. Tyler, in Fresno 
County, followed one for 
eighteen feet, and was 
rewarded by a single egg 
-—not to mention fleas. 
The nesting cavity 
is heavily lined with 
dried Horse duru^, torn Taken in San Bernardino County Photo by Pierce 
to feathery shreds and 
THE BURROW 
1123 
