324 
BIRDS OF NEW MEXICO 
Whatever its local standing, this Great Horned Owl is one of the 
royal birds of the land, a meeting with which may well distinguish a 
day in the field. 
Additional Literature.—Baeiig, W. J., Auk, XLIII, 214-217, 1926 (trying 
to tame).— Brewster, William, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., Harvard College, LXVI, 
384-397, 1925.— Dixon, James B., Condor, XVI, 47-54, 1914.— Dutcher, 
William, Educational Leaflet 19, Nat. Assoc. Audubon Soc.— Gilman, M. F., 
Condor,XI, 145-146,1909.— Holland, Harold M., Bird-Lore, XXVI11,1-4,1926.— 
Keyes, C. R., Condor, XIII, 1-19, 1911.— Pearson, T. G., Educational Leaflet 
105, Nat. Assoc. Audubon Soc.— Pittman, H. H., Bird-Lore, XXVIT, 92-96, 1925 
(food at nest).— Reed, B. P., Auk, XLII, 14-31, 1925 (young).— Rockwell, R. B., 
Condor, X, 14-17, 1908.— Thayer, G. H., Concealing-Coloration in the Animal 
Kingdom, Fig. 36 and p. 41, 1909. 
WESTERN HORNED OWL: Bubo virginianus occident&lis Stone 
Description.— Male: Wing 13.1-14 inches, tail 8-8.8, bill 1.4-1.6. Female: 
W ing 14-15.4 inches, tail 8.7-0.5, bill 1.5-1.7. Like the Pallid Horned Owl but 
considerably larger; colors averaging darker. 
Range. —Rocky Mountain region and central United States. From central 
Alberta, Montana, and Minnesota south to Kansas, northern New Mexico, Utah, 
Nevada, and southeastern Oregon. Recorded from Iowa in winter. 
State Records.- —The Western Horned Owl, which comes down from the north, 
has been found mainly in northern and eastern New Mexico. [In timbered gulches 
at Lake Burford it was fairly common, May-June, 1918 (Wetmore). In northern 
Santa Fe County, where it is common, nesting in cut banks and less often in cavities 
in large cottonwoods, a pair nests regularly in a cut on the Santa Fe-LameyRailway 
near Arroyo Hondo, about 6 feet from passing trains (Jensen, 1922). At Santa Fe 
it was seen in the winter of 1922-23 (Jensen).] In the Culcbra Mountains, at 10,700 
feet, it was heard August 20, 1904, and on Pecos Baldy at 11,000 feet, July 31, 1903 
(Bailey). One was also reported killed at Koehler, about July 25, 1913 (Kalmbach). 
Specimens have been taken at Catskill, September 28, 1903 (Howell); Perico Arroyo, 
February 27, 1905 (R. Alcorta); Horse Lake, September 21, 1904 (Gaut); [Lake 
Burford, June 16, 1918 (Wetmore)]; Jemez Mountains, September 6, 1906 (Bailey); 
[Cabezon, August 10, 1916 (Ligon)]; Acoma, September 27, 1906 (Bailey); San 
Mateo Mountains, 8,000 feet, September 17, 1909 (Goldman). 
ROCKY MOUNTAIN PYGMY OWL: Glaucidium gn6ma pinicola Nelson 
Description. — Wing: 3.7 inches. Head lailhout car-tufts, facial disc very incom¬ 
plete, legs fully feathered, toes mainly bristly, wings short, tail long. Adults: Upper- 
parts grayish brown, head specked and tail barred with white; underparts white, 
streaked with brown. Eyes lemon yellow, bill and feet dull greenish yellow. 
Range.— Timbered mountains of northern Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and 
Sierra Madre of Mexico. 
State Records— The type specimen of the Rocky Mountain Pygmy Owl was 
taken December 25, 1908, at Alma, New Mexico (Hunter), and a specimen was 
taken in the same region, 30 miles north of Silver City, December 30, 1913 (Kellogg) 
[Young flying with adults were seen, July 30, 1920, 12 miles northwest of Pinos Altos 
in the Black Range (Ligon).] An adult with a brood of four young was found Julv 
>,1889, near San Pedro at 7,000 feet (Bailey), which is probably at about as low an 
a titude as this species nests in New Mexico. It is most common from 8,000 to 9,000 
feet, at which altitudes it has been found near Willis (Henshaw); Jemez Mountains, 
