The Yellow Rail and Saw-Whet Owl in Sonoma Co., California
The Yellow Rail and Saw-Whet Owl in Sonoma Co., Cal.
On December 20, 1898, while walking through the salt grass, I flushed a Yellow Rail which flew about twenty feet and alighted. I caught it and carried it about all day and put it in a box that night. The following morning it was quite lively, but I reluctantly killed it. It proved to be a female in fine condition and measures; length, 6 1/2; extent, 13; wing, 3 1/4; tail 1.20 inches.
On the night of December 16, 1898, my brother brought me an owl which he had caught in a tree near the house. The night was cold and foggy and the bird was apparently in an exhausted condition. To secure the owl, my brother made several jumps at the limb on which it sat before pulling it to the ground, where it sat stupefied and was placed in a box. The next morning it was dead, and upon skinning it I found the stomach empty and the bird in an emaciated condition. Sex, female; length, 19 1/2 inches; extent 8 or 8 1/2 inches. The bird proved to be a Saw-Whet Owl, a record for Sonoma Co.
HENRY W. CARRIGER
Sonoma, Cal.
