Nov., ?9?6 I M3 The Kennicott Screech Owl BY J. u. BOWLES HE Kennicott screech o?vl (Scops asio kennicotti) is a tol'erably common resident thruout the year in northwestern Washington. It is seldom found in the' higher altitudes or in heavily wooded regions, but is most fre- quently to be met with in river valleys and iu the oak-sprinkled prairie country, usually in the immediate vicinity of water. Exceedingly sociable in their disposition towards mankind, these birds are fre- quently seen in the cities, and all tile nests I have ever examined xvere but a very short distance from houses. On one occasion at an evening lawn party in the city, one of these owls spent more than half au hour eatcLing what I am positive were angle-worms. He would swoop down onto the lawn and stay for perhaps a min- ute, returning each time either to one of a small group of maples or to the roof of the house. It was too dark to distingush what he was catching, but he paid no more attention to the people ?valking near him than an occasional turn of the head, busying himself with poking about in the short grass with his bill. These birds appear to see perfectly well in the day time, tho before dusk most of their time is spent in the thickets of small firs and maples. When come upon sud- denly at such times they eye the intruder vigilantly until he approaches within ten or a doze!l feet, and then fly swiftly and silently out of sight. A bird sitting on heavily incubated eggs always appears to be in a kind of torpor when lifted from the nest, and is certainly the sleepiest looking and acting creature imaginable. She keeps her eyes shut all the time and may be handled with impunity, never struggling or attempting to get away. If the eggs are fresh, however, her actions are somewhat different, as may be seen from the following notes taken by my brother, Mr. C. W. Bowies, concerning a nest with four parfly incubated eggs. "One bird was sitting in a tree about one hundred and fifty feet away watch- ing my actions dosely, but remained perfectly motionless with tile exception of its head. The sitting bird, when taken from the nest and tossed into the air, flew without any hesitation to where her mate was sitting. While flying she snapped her beak repeatedly, but neither bird made any noise afterward." The high-keyed, tremulous hooting cry of these birds is, strangely enough, most often heard during the fall months. In spring and summer, tho repeat- edly spending tile night in localities where they were tolerably abundant, I have never heard them utter a note of any description. During the greater part of the year these owls are entirely beneficial, their food consisting mostly of mice. Large beeries are often added, and nearly every small stream shows signs of where an owl has successfully angled for craw-fish, carefully splitting and picking the meat from the shell. After the eggs are bateLed, however, the parents are at their wit's end to procure food enough.for the hungry babies, and it is at this season onlv that birds are used in the bill of fare. The northwestern flicker seems to be found especially delectable, tho feathers of the Steller jay, western robin and a few other species are sometimes found in the hole with the young. Curiously enough it is most unusual to find remains of juneos, sparrows or other small-sized birds; and, all things considered, these owls unquestionably do many times as much good as they do harm. The location chosen for a nesting site is invariably in a clearing; in one ease a fir stub standing aloue iu a city lot was the somewhat unwise selection. The nest
