Chapter I: Appendix: I. Additions and Corrections 499 (1)

II. Explanation of Terms used in describing
the External Form of Birds 524

III. Glossary of Technical Terms 535

INDEX OF ENGLISH NAMES.

INDEX OF SCIENTIFIC NAMES.

INDEX TO THE PLATES.

PLATES 57–64.

NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS.

RAPTORES.[1]—THE BIRDS OF PREY.

The group of birds usually known as the _Raptores_, or Rapacious Birds, embraces three well-marked divisions, namely, the Owls, the Hawks, and the Vultures. In former classifications they headed the Class of Birds, being honored with this position in consequence of their powerful organization, large size, and predatory habits. But it being now known that in structure they are less perfectly organized than the _Passeres_ and _Strisores_, birds generally far more delicate in organization, as well as smaller in size, they occupy a place in the more recent arrangements nearly at the end of the Terrestrial forms.

The complete definition of the order _Raptores_, and of its subdivisions, requires the enumeration of a great many characters; and that their distinguishing features may be more easily recognized by the student, I give first a brief diagnosis, including their simplest characters, to be followed by a more detailed account hereafter.

COMMON CHARACTERS. Bill hooked, the upper mandible furnished at the base with a soft skin, or “cere,” in which the nostrils are situated. Toes, three before and one behind. _Raptores._

=Strigidæ.= Eyes directed forwards, and surrounded by radiating
feathers, which are bounded, except anteriorly, by a circle or rim of
differently formed, stiffer feathers. Outer toe reversible. Claws much
hooked and very sharp. Legs and toes usually feathered, or, at least,
coated with bristles. _The Owls._

=Falconidæ.= Eyes lateral, and not surrounded by radiating feathers.
Outer toe not reversible (except in _Pandion_). Claws usually hooked
and sharp, but variable. Head more or less completely feathered. _The
Hawks._

=Cathartidæ.= Eyes lateral; whole head naked. Outer toe not
reversible; claws slightly curved, blunt. _The Vultures._

The preceding characters, though purely artificial, may nevertheless serve to distinguish the three families of _Raptores_ belonging to the North American _Ornis_; a more scientific diagnosis, embracing a sufficient number of osteological, and accompanying anatomical characters, will be found further on.

The birds of prey—named _Accipitres_ by some authors, and _Raptores_ or _Rapaces_ by others, and very appropriately designated as the _Ætomorphæ_ by Professor Huxley—form one of the most strongly characterized and sharply limited of the higher divisions of the Class of Birds. It is only recently, however, that their place in a systematic classification and the proper number and relation of their subdivisions have been properly understood. Professor Huxley’s views will probably form the basis for a permanent classification, as they certainly point the way to one eminently natural. In his important paper entitled “On the Classification of Birds, and on the Taxonomic Value of the Modifications of certain Cranial Bones observable in that Class,”[2] this gentleman has dealt concisely upon the affinities of the order _Raptores_, and the distinguishing features of its subdivisions. In the following diagnoses the osteological characters are mainly borrowed from Professor Huxley’s work referred to. Nitzsch’s “Pterylography”[3] supplies such characters as are afforded by the plumage, most of which confirm the arrangement based upon the osteological structure; while important suggestions have been derived from McGillivray’s “History of British Birds.”[4] The Monographs of the _Strigidæ_ and _Falconidæ_, by Dr. J. J. Kaup,[5] contain much valuable information, and were they not disfigured by a very eccentric system of arrangement they would approach nearer to a natural classification of the subfamilies, genera, and subgenera, than any arrangement of the lesser groups which I have yet seen.

The species of this group are spread over the whole world, tropical regions having the greatest variety of forms and number of species. The _Strigidæ_ are cosmopolitan, most of the genera belonging to both continents. The _Falconidæ_ are also found the world over, but each continent has subfamilies peculiar to it. The _Cathartidæ_ are peculiar to America, having analogous representatives in the Old World in the subfamily _Vulturinæ_ belonging to the _Falconidæ_, The _Gypogeranidæ_ are found only in South Africa, where a single species, _Gypogeranus serpentarius_ (GMEL.), sole representative of the family, is found.

As regards the comparative number of species of this order in the two continents, the Old World is considerably ahead of the New World, which might be expected from its far greater land area. 581 species are given in Gray’s Hand List,[6] of which certainly not more than 500, probably not more than 450, are valid species, the others ranking as geographical races, or are synonymous with others; of this number about 350 nominal species are accredited to the Old World. America, however, possesses the greatest variety of forms, and the great bulk of the Old World Raptorial fauna is made up chiefly by a large array of species of a few genera which are represented in America by but one or two, or at most half a dozen, species. The genera _Aquila_, _Spizætus_, _Accipiter_, _Haliætus_, _Falco_, _Circus_, _Athene_, _Strix_, and _Buteo_, are striking examples. As regards the number of peculiar forms, America is considerably ahead.

FAMILY STRIGIDÆ.—THE OWLS.

CHAR. Eyes directed forward, and surrounded by a radiating system of feathers, which is bounded, except anteriorly, by a ruff of stiff, compactly webbed, differently formed, and somewhat recurved feathers; loral feathers antrorse, long, and dense. Plumage very soft and lax, of a fine downy texture, the feathers destitute of an after-shaft. Oil-gland without the usual circlet of feathers. Outer webs of the quills with the points of the fibres recurved. Feathers on the sides of the forehead frequently elongated into ear-like tufts; tarsus usually, and toes frequently, densely feathered. Ear-opening very large, sometimes covered by a lappet. Œsophagus destitute of a dilated crop; cœca large. Maxillo-palatines thick and spongy, and encroaching upon the intervening valley; basipterygoid processes always present. Outer toe reversible; posterior toe only about half as long as the outer. Posterior margin of the sternum doubly indented; clavicle weak and nearly cylindrical, about equal in length to the sternum. Anterior process of the coracoid projected forward so as to meet the clavicle, beneath the basal process of the scapula. Eggs variable in shape, usually nearly spherical, always immaculate, pure white.

The Owls constitute a very natural and sharply limited family, and though the species vary almost infinitely in the details of their structure, they all seem to fall within the limits of a single subfamily.

They have never yet been satisfactorily classified, and all the arrangements which have been either proposed or adopted are refuted by the facts developed upon a close study into the true relationship of the many genera. The divisions of “Night Owls,” “Day Owls,” “Horned Owls,” etc., are purely artificial. This family is much more homogeneous than that of the _Falconidæ_, since none of the many genera which I have examined seem to depart in their structure from the model of a single subfamily, though a few of them are somewhat aberrant as regards peculiarities in the detail of external form, or, less often, to a slight extent, in their osteological characters, though I have examined critically only the American and European species; and there may be some Asiatic, African, or Australian genera which depart so far from the normal standard of structure as to necessitate a modification of this view. In the structure of the sternum there is scarcely the least noticeable deviation in any genus[7] from the typical form. The appreciable differences appear to be only of generic value, such as a different proportionate length of the coracoid bones and the sternum, and width of the sternum in proportion to its length, or the height of its keel. The crania present a greater range of variation, and, if closely studied, may afford a clew to a more natural arrangement than the one which is here presented. The chief differences in the skulls of different genera consist in the degree of pneumaticity of the bones, in the form of the auricular bones, the comparative length and breadth of the palatines, and very great contrasts in the contour. As a rule, we find that those skulls which have the greatest pneumaticity (e.g. _Strix_ and _Otus_) are most depressed anteriorly, have the orbital septum thicker, the palatines longer and narrower, and a deeper longitudinal median valley on the superior surface, and _vice versa_.

The following classification is based chiefly upon external characters; but these are in most instances known to be accompanied by osteological peculiarities, which point to nearly the same arrangement. It is intended merely as an artificial table of the North American genera, and may be subjected to considerable modification in its plan if exotic genera are introduced.[8]

Genera and Subgenera.

=A.= Inner toe equal to the middle in length; inner edge of middle
claw pectinated. First quill longer than the third; all the quills
with their inner webs entire, or without emargination. Tail
emarginated. Feathers of the posterior face of the tarsus recurved, or
pointed upwards.

1. =Strix.= No ear-tufts; bill light-colored; eyes black;
tarsus nearly twice as long as middle toe; toes scantily
haired. Size medium. Ear-conch nearly as long as the height of
the skull, with an anterior operculum for only a portion of
its length; symmetrical.

=B.= Inner toe decidedly or much shorter than the middle; inner edge
of middle claw not pectinated. First quill shorter than the third; one
to six outer quills with their inner webs emarginated. Tail rounded.
Feathers of the posterior face of the tarsus not recurved but pointed
downwards.

I. Nostril open, oval, situated in the anterior edge of the cere,
which is not inflated.

_a._ Cere, on top, equal to, or exceeding, the chord of the
culmen; much arched. Ear-conch nearly as long as the height of the
skull, with the operculum extending its full length; asymmetrical.

2. =Otus.= One or two outer quills with their inner webs
emarginated. With or without ear-tufts. Bill blackish; iris
yellow. Size medium.

Ear-tufts well developed; only one quill emarginated …

_Otus._

Ear-tufts rudimentary; two quills emarginated …

_Brachyotus._

_b._ Cere, on top, less than the chord of the culmen; gradually
ascending basally, or level (not arched). Ear-conch nearly the
height of the skull, with the operculum extending only a part of
its full length, or wanting entirely.

† Anterior edge of the ear-conch with an operculum; the two ears
asymmetrical.

3. =Syrnium.= Five to six outer quills with their inner webs
emarginated. Top of cere more than half the culmen. Without
ear-tufts. Bill yellow; iris yellow or black. Size medium or
large.

Six quills emarginated; toes densely feathered, the terminal
scutellæ concealed; iris yellow. Size very large …

_Scotiaptex._

Five quills emarginated; toes scantly feathered, the
terminal scutellæ exposed; iris black. Size medium …

_Syrnium._

4. =Nyctale.= Two outer quills with inner webs emarginated.
Top of cere less than half the culmen, level. Without
ear-tufts. Bill yellow or blackish; iris yellow. Size small.

†† Anterior edge of the ear-conch without an operculum. The two
ears symmetrical. Tail slightly rounded, only about half as long
as the wing.

5. =Scops.= Two to five quills with inner webs emarginated;
second to fifth longest. Bill weak, light-colored. Ear-conch
elliptical, about one-third the height of the head, with
a slightly elevated fringed anterior margin. Size small;
ear-tufts usually well developed, sometimes rudimentary.

6. =Bubo.= Two to four outer quills with inner webs
emarginated; third to fourth longest. Bill robust, black.
Ear-conch elliptical, simple, from one third to one half the
height of the skull. Size large. Ear-tufts well developed or
rudimentary.

Ear-tufts well developed. Two to three outer quills with
inner webs emarginated; lower tail-coverts not reaching end
of the tail. Toes covered with short feathers, the claws
exposed, and bill not concealed by the loral feathers …

_Bubo._

Ear-tufts rudimentary. Four outer quills with their inner
webs emarginated; lower tail-coverts reaching end of the
tail. Toes covered with long feathers, which hide the claws,
and bill nearly concealed by the loral feathers …

_Nyctea._

††† Similar to the last, but the tail graduated, nearly equal to
the wing.

7. =Surnia.= Four outer quills with inner webs emarginated.
Third quill longest. Bill strong, yellow; ear-conch simple,
oval, less than the diameter of the eye. Size medium; no
ear-tufts.

II. Nostril, a small circular opening into the surrounding inflated
membrane of the cere. Ear-conch small, simple, oval, or nearly
round, without an operculum.

First quill shorter than the tenth.

8. =Glaucidium.= Third to fourth quills longest; four
emarginated on inner webs. Tarsus about equal to the middle
toe, densely feathered. Tail much more than half the wing,
rounded. Bill and iris yellow. Size very small.

9. =Micrathene.= Fourth quill longest; four emarginated on
inner webs. Tarsus a little longer than middle toe, scantily
haired. Tail less than half the wing, even. Bill light
(greenish ?); iris yellow. Size very small.

First quill longer than sixth.

10. =Speotyto.= Second to fourth quills longest; three
emarginated on inner webs. Tarsus more than twice as long as
middle toe, closely feathered in front to the toes, naked
behind. Tail less than half the wing, slightly rounded. Bill
yellowish; iris yellow. Size small.

In their distribution, the Owls, as a family, are cosmopolitan, and most of the genera are found on both hemispheres. All the northern genera (_Nyctea_, _Surnia_, _Nyctale_, and _Scotiaptex_), and the majority of their species, are circumpolar. The genus _Glaucidium_ is most largely developed within the tropics, and has numerous species in both hemispheres. _Otus brachyotus_ and _Strix flammea_ are the only two species which are found all over the world,—the former, however, being apparently absent in Australia. _Gymnoglaux_, _Speotyto_, _Micrathene_, and _Lophostrix_ are about the only well-characterized genera peculiar to America. _Athene_, _Ketupa_, and _Phodilus_ are peculiar to the Old World. The approximate number of known species (see Gray’s Hand List of Birds, I, 1869) is about two hundred, of which two, as stated, are cosmopolitan; six others (_Surnia ulula_, _Nyctea scandiaca_, _Glaucidium passerinum_, _Syrnium cinereum_, _Otus vulgaris_, and _Nyctale tengmalmi_) are found in both halves of the Northern Hemisphere; of the remainder there are about an equal number peculiar to America and the Old World.

As regards the distribution of the Owls in the Nearctic Realm, a prominent feature is the number of the species (eighteen, not including races) belonging to it, of which six (_Micrathene whitneyi_, _Nyctale acadica_, _Syrnium nebulosum_, _S. occidentale_, _Scops asio_, and _S. flammeola_) are found nowhere else. _Speotyto cunicularia_ and _Bubo virginianus_ are peculiarly American species found both north and south of the equator, but in the two regions represented by different geographical races. _Glaucidium ferrugineum_ and _G. infuscatum_ (var. _gnoma_) are tropical species which overreach the bounds of the Neotropical Realm,—the former extending into the United States, the latter reaching to, and probably also within, our borders. Of the eighteen North American species, about nine, or one half (_Strix flammea_ var. _pratincola_, _Otus brachyotus_, _O. vulgaris_ var. _wilsonianus_, _Syrnium cinereum_, _Nyctale acadica_, _Bubo virginianus_, and _Scops asio_, with certainty, and _Nyctea scandiaca_ var. _arctica_, and _Surnia ulula_ var. _hudsonia_, in all probability), are found entirely across the continent. _Nyctale tengmalmi_, var. _richardsoni_, and _Syrnium nebulosum_, appear to be peculiar to the eastern portion,—the former to the northern regions, the latter to the southern. _Athene cunicularia_ var. _hypugaea_, _Micrathene whitneyi_, _Glaucidium passerinum_ var. _californicum_, _Syrnium occidentale_, and _Scops flammeola_, are exclusively western, all belonging to the southern portion of the Middle Province and Rocky Mountain region, and the adjacent parts of Mexico, excepting the more generally distributed _Speotyto cunicularia_, var. _hypogæa_, before mentioned. Anomalies in regard to the distribution of some of the species common to both continents, are the restriction of the American representative of _Glaucidium passerinum_ to the western regions,[9] and of _Strix flammea_ to the very southern and maritime portions of the United States, the European representatives of both species being generally distributed throughout that continent. On the other hand, the northwest-coast race of our _Scops asio_ (_S. kennicotti_) seems to be nearly identical with the Japanese _S. semitorques_ (Schlegel), which is undoubtedly referrible to the same species.

As regards their plumage, the Owls differ most remarkably from the Hawks in the fact that the sexes are invariably colored alike, while from the nest to perfect maturity there are no well-marked progressive stages distinguishing the different ages of a species. The nestling, or downy, plumage, however, of many species, has the intricate pencilling of the adult dress replaced by a simple transverse barring upon the imperfect downy covering. The downy young of _Nyctea scandiaca_ is plain sooty-brown, and that of _Strix flammea_ immaculate white.

In many species the adult dress is characterized by a mottling of various shades of grayish mixed with ochraceous or fulvous, this ornamented by a variable, often very intricate, pencilling of dusky, and more or less mixed with white. As a consequence of the mixed or mottled character of the markings, the plumage of the Owls is, as a rule, difficult to describe.

In the variations of plumage, size, etc., with differences of habitat, there is a wide range, the usually recognized laws[10] applying to most of those species which are generally distributed and resident where breeding. Of the eight species common to the Palæarctic and Nearctic Realms, all but one (_Otus brachyotus_) are modified so as to form representative geographical races on the two continents. In each of these cases the American bird is much darker than the European, the brown areas and markings being not only more extended, but deeper in tint. The difference in this respect is so tangible that an experienced ornithologist can instantly decide to which continent any specimen belongs. Of the two cosmopolitan species one, _Otus brachyotus_, is identical throughout; the other is modified into geographical races in nearly every well-marked province of its habitat. Thus in the Palæarctic Realm it is typical _Strix flammea_; in the Nearctic Realm it is var. _pratincola_; while Tropical America has at least three well-marked geographical races, the species being represented in Middle America by the var. _guatemalæ_, in South America by var. _perlata_, and in the West Indies by the var. _furcata_. The Old World has also numerous representative races, of which we have, however, seen only two, namely, var. _javanica_ (Gm.), of Java, India, and Eastern Africa, and var. _delicatula_ (Gould) of Australia, both of which we unhesitatingly refer to _S. flammea_.[11]

On the North American continent the only widely distributed species which do not vary perceptibly with the region are _Otus brachyotus_ and _O. vulgaris_ (var. _wilsonianus_). _Bubo virginianus_, _Scops asio_, and _Syrnium nebulosum_ all bear the impress of special laws in the several regions of their habitat. Starting with the Eastern Province, and tracing either of these three species southward, we find it becoming gradually smaller, the colors deeper and more rufous, and the toes more scantily feathered. _Scops asio_ reaches its minimum of size and maximum depth of color in Florida (var. _floridana_) and in Mexico (var. _enano_).

Of the other two I have not seen Florida specimens, but examples of both from other Southern States and the Lower Mississippi Valley region are much more rufous, and—the _S. nebulosum_ especially—smaller, with more naked toes. The latter species is darkest in Eastern Mexico (var. _sartori_), and most rufescent, and smallest, in Guatemala (var. _fulvescens_). In the middle region of the United States, _Scops asio_ (var. _maccalli_) and _Bubo virginianus_ (var. _arcticus_) are more grayish and more delicately pencilled than from other portions. In the northwest coast region they become larger and much more darkly colored, assuming the clove-brown or sooty tints peculiar to the region. The var. _kennicotti_ represents _S. asio_ in this region, and var. _pacificus_ the _B. virginianus_. The latter species also extends its range around the Arctic Coast to Labrador, and forms a northern _littoral_ race, the very opposite extreme in color from the nearly albinescent examples of var. _arcticus_ found in the interior of Arctic America.

A very remarkable characteristic of the Owls is the fact that many of the species exist in a sort of _dimorphic_ condition, or that two plumages sufficiently unlike to be of specific importance in other cases belong to one species. It was long thought that these two phases represented two distinct species; afterwards it was maintained that they depended on age, sex, or season, different authors or observers entertaining various opinions on the subject; but it is now generally believed that every individual retains through life the plumage which it first acquires, and that young birds of both forms are often found in the same nest, their parents being either both of one form, or both of the other, or the two styles paired together.[12] The normal plumage, in these instances, appears to be grayish, the pattern distinct, the markings sharply defined, and the general appearance much like that of species which do not have the other plumage. The other plumage is a replacing of the grayish tints by a bright lateritious-rufous, the pencillings being at the same time less well defined, and the pattern of the smaller markings often changed. This condition seems to be somewhat analogous to _melanism_ in certain _Falconidæ_, and appears to be more common in the genera _Scops_ and _Glaucidium_ (in which it affects mainly the tropical species), and occurs also in the European _Syrnium aluco_. As studied with relation to our North American species, we find it only in _Scops asio_ and _Glaucidium ferrugineum_. The latter, being strictly tropical in its habitat, is similarly affected throughout its range; but in the former we find that this condition depends much upon the region. Thus neither Dr. Cooper nor I have ever seen a red specimen from the Pacific coast, nor do I find any record of such an occurrence. The normal gray plumage, however, is as common throughout that region as in the Atlantic States. In the New England and Middle States the red plumage seems to be more rare in most places than the gray one, while toward the south the red predominates greatly. Of over twenty specimens obtained in Southern Illinois (Mt. Carmel) in the course of one winter, only one was of the gray plumage; and of the total number of specimens seen and secured at other times during a series of years, we can remember but one other gray one. As a parallel example among mammals, Professor Baird suggests the case of the Red-bellied Squirrels and Foxes of the Southern States, whose relationships to the more grayish northern and western forms appear to be about the same as in the present instance.

GENUS STRIX, SAVIGNY.

_Strix_, SAVIGNY, 1809 (_nec_ LINN. 1735). (Type, _Strix flammea_,
LINN.)
_Stridula_, SELLYS-LONGCH, 1842.
_Eustrinx_, WEBB & BERTH. 1844.
_Hybris_, NITZSCH.

_Strix pratincola._]

GEN. CHAR. Size medium. No ear-tufts; facial ruff entirely continuous, very conspicuous. Wing very long, the first or second quill longest, and all without emargination. Tail short, emarginated. Bill elongated, compressed, regularly curved; top of the cere nearly equal to the culmen, straight, and somewhat depressed. Nostril open, oval, nearly horizontal. Eyes very small. Tarsus nearly twice as long as the middle toe, densely clothed with soft short feathers, those on the posterior face inclined upwards; toes scantily bristled; claws extremely sharp and long, the middle one with its inner edge pectinated. Ear-conch nearly as long as the height of the head, with an anterior operculum, which does not extend its full length; the two ears symmetrical?

The species of _Strix_ are distributed over the whole world, though only one of them is cosmopolitan. This is the common Barn Owl (_S. flammea_), the type of the genus, which is found in nearly every portion of the world, though in different regions it has experienced modifications which constitute geographical races. The other species, of more restricted distribution, are peculiar to the tropical portions of the Old World, chiefly Australia and South Africa.

Synopsis of the Races of S. flammea.

=S. flammea.= Face varying from pure white to delicate claret-brown;
facial circle varying from pure white, through ochraceous and rufous,
to deep black. Upper parts with the feathers ochraceous-yellow
basally; this overlaid, more or less continuously, by a grayish wash,
usually finely mottled and speckled, with dusky and white. Primaries
and tail barred transversely, more or less distinctly, with distant
dusky bands, of variable number. Beneath, varying from pure snowy
white to tawny rufous, immaculate or speckled. Wing, 10.70–13.50.

Wing, 10.70–12.00; tail, 4.80–5.50; culmen, .75–.80; tarsus,
2.05–2.15; middle toe, 1.25–1.30. Tail with four dark bands, and
sometimes a trace of a fifth. Hab. Europe and Mediterranean region
of Africa …

var. _flammea_.[13]

Wing, 12.50–14.00; tail, 5.70–7.50; culmen, .90–1.00; tarsus,
2.55–3.00. Tail with four dark bands, and sometimes a trace of a
fifth. Colors lighter than in var. _flammea_. _Hab._ Southern North
America and Mexico …

var. _pratincola_.

Wing, 11.30–13.00; tail, 5.30–5.90; tarsus, 2.55–2.95. Colors of
var. _flammea_, but more uniform above and more coarsely speckled
below. _Hab._ Central America, from Panama to Guatemala …

var. _guatemalæ_.[14]

Wing, 11.70–12.00; tail, 4.80–5.20; tarsus, 2.40–2.75. Tail more
even, and lighter colored; the dark bars narrower, and more sharply
defined. Colors generally paler, and more grayish. _Hab._ South
America (Brazil, etc.) …

var. _perlata_.[15]

Wing, 12.00–13.50; tail, 5.60–6.00; culmen, .85–.95; tarsus,
2.70–2.85; middle toe, 1.45–1.60. Colors as in var. _perlata_,
but secondaries and tail nearly white, in abrupt contrast to the
adjacent parts; tail usually without bars. _Hab._ West Indies (Cuba
and Jamaica, Mus. S. I.) …

var. _furcata_.[16]

Wing, 11.00; tail, 5.00; culmen, about .85; tarsus, 2.05–2.45;
middle toe, 1.30–1.40. Colors of var. _pratincola_, but less of the
ochraceous, with a greater prevalence of the gray mottling. Tail
with four dark bands _Hab._ Australia …

var. _delicatula_.[17]

Wing, 11.00–11.70; tail, 5.10–5.40; culmen, .85–.90; tarsus,
2.30–2.45; middle toe, 1.35–1.45. Same colors as var. _delicatula_.
Tail with four dark bands (sometimes a trace of a fifth). _Hab._
India and Eastern Africa …

var. _javanica_.[18]

Strix flammea, var. pratincola, BONAP.

AMERICAN BARN OWL.

_Strix pratincola_, BONAP. List, 1838, p. 7.—DE KAY, Zoöl. N. Y. II,
1844, 31, pl. xiii. f. 28.—GRAY, Gen. B., fol. sp. 2.—CASSIN, B.
Cal. & Tex. 1854, p. 176.—NEWB. P. R. Rep. VI, IV, 1857, 76.—HEERM.
do. VII, 1857, 34.—CASS. Birds N. Am. 1858, 47.—COUES, Prod. Orn.
Ariz. (P. A. N. S. Philad. 1866), 13.—SCL. P. Z. S. 1859, 390
(Oaxaca).—DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 330 (Texas).—? BRYANT, Pr. Bost. Soc.
1867, 65 (Bahamas). _Strix perlata_, GRAY, List Birds Brit. Mus. 1848,
109 (not _S. perlata_ of LICHT. !).—IB. Hand List, I, 1869, 52.—KAUP,
Monog. Strig. Pr. Zoöl. Soc. Lond. IV, 1859, 247. _Strix americana_,
AUD. Synop. 1839, 24.—BREWER, Wilson’s Am. Orn. 1852, 687. _Strix
flammea_, MAX. Reise Bras. II, 1820, 265.—WILS. Am. Orn. 1808, pl. l,
f. 2.—JAMES, ed. Wilson’s Am. Orn. I, 1831, 111.—AUD. B. Am. 1831, pl.
clxxi.—IB. Orn. Biog. II, 1831, 403.—SPIX, Av. Bras. I, 21.—VIG. Zoöl.
Jour. III, 438.—IB. Zoöl. Beech. Voy. p. 16.—BONAP. Ann. N. Y. Lyc.
II, 38.—IB. Isis, 1832, 1140; Consp. Av. p. 55.—GRAY, List Birds Brit.
Mus. 1844, 54.—NUTT. Man. 1833, 139. _Ulula flammea_, JARDINE, ed.
Wilson’s Am. Orn. II, 1832, 264. _Strix flammea_, var. _americana_,
COUES, Key, 1872, 201.

CHAR. _Average plumage._ Ground-color of the upper parts bright orange-ochraceous; this overlaid in cloudings, on nearly the whole of the surface, with a delicate mottling of blackish and white; the mottling continuous on the back and inner scapulars, and on the ends of the primaries more faint, while along their edges it is more in the form of fine dusky dots, thickly sprinkled. Each feather of the mottled surface (excepting the secondaries and primaries) has a medial dash of black, enclosing a roundish or cordate spot of white near the end of the feather; on the secondaries and primaries, the mottling is condensed into obsolete transverse bands, which are about four in number on the former and five on the latter; primary coverts deeper orange-rufous than the other portions, the mottling principally at their ends. Tail orange-ochraceous, finely mottled—most densely terminally—with dusky, fading into whitish at the tip, and crossed by about five distinct bands of mottled dusky. Face white, tinged with wine-red; an ante-orbital spot of dark claret-brown, this narrowly surrounding the eye; facial circle, from forehead down to the ears (behind which it is white for an inch or so) soft orange-ochraceous, similar to the ground-color of the upper parts; the lower half (from ears across the throat) deeper ochraceous, the tips of the feathers blackish, the latter sometimes predominating. Lower parts snowy-white, but this more or less overlaid with a tinge of fine orange-ochraceous, lighter than the tint of the upper parts; and, excepting on the jugulum, anal region, and crissum, with numerous minute but distinct specks of black; under surface of wings delicate yellowish-white, the lining sparsely sprinkled with black dots; inner webs of primaries with transverse bars of mottled dusky near their ends.

_Extreme plumages._ Darkest (No. 6,884, ♂, Tejon Valley, Cal.; “R. S. W.” Dr. Heermann): There is no white whatever on the plumage, the lower parts being continuous light ochraceous; the tibiæ have numerous round spots of blackish. Lightest (No. 6,885, same locality): Face and entire lower parts immaculate snowy-white; facial circle white, with the tips of the feathers orange; the secondaries, primaries, and tail show no bars, their surface being uniformly and finely mottled.

_Measurements_ (♂, 6,884, Tejon Valley, Cal.; Dr. Heermann). Wing, 13.00; tail, 5.70; culmen, .90; tarsus, 2.50; middle toe, 1.25. Wing-formula, 2, 1–3. Among the very numerous specimens in the collection, there is not one marked ♀. The extremes of a large series are as follows: Wing, 12.50–14.00; tail, 5.70–7.50; culmen, .90–1.10; tarsus, 2.55–3.00.

HAB. More southern portions of North America, especially near the sea-coast, from the Middle States southward, and along the southern border to California; whole of Mexico. In Central America appreciably modified into var. _guatemalæ_. In South America replaced by var. _perlata_, and in the West Indies by the quite different var. _furcata_.

Localities: Oaxaca (SCL. P. Z. S. 1859, 390); Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 330); Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 49); ? Bahamas (BRYANT, Pr. Bost. Soc. 1867, 65). Kansas (SNOW, List of B. Kansas); Iowa (ALLEN, Iowa Geol. Report, II, 424).

_Strix pratincola._]

The variations of plumage noted above appear to be of a purely individual nature, since they do not depend upon the locality; nor, as far as we can learn, to any considerable extent, upon age or sex.

HABITS. On the Atlantic coast this bird very rarely occurs north of Pennsylvania. It is given by Mr. Lawrence as very rare in the vicinity of New York, and in three instances, at least, it has been detected in New England. An individual is said, by Rev. J. H. Linsley, to have been taken in 1843, in Stratford, Conn.; another was shot at Sachem’s Head in the same State, October 28, 1865; and a third was killed in May, 1868, near Springfield, Mass.

In the vicinity of Philadelphia the Barn Owl is not very rare, but is more common in spring and autumn than in the summer. Its nests have been found in hollow trees near marshy meadows. Southward it is more or less common as far as South Carolina, where it becomes more abundant, and its range then extends south and west as far as the Pacific. It is quite plentiful in Texas and New Mexico, and is one of the most abundant birds of California. It was not met with by Dr. Woodhouse in the expedition to the Zuñi River, but this may be attributed to the desolate character of the country through which he passed, as it is chiefly found about habitations, and is never met with in wooded or wild regions.

Dr. Heermann and Dr. Gambel, who visited California before the present increase in population, speak of its favorite resort as being in the neighborhood of the Missions, and of its nesting under the tiled roofs of the houses. The latter also refers to his finding numbers under one roof, and states that they showed no fear when approached. The propensity of the California bird to drink the sacred oil from the consecrated lamps about the altars of the Missions was frequently referred to by the priests, whenever any allusion was made to this Owl. Dr. Gambel also found it about farm-houses, and occasionally in the prairie valleys, where it obtains an abundance of food, such as mice and other small animals.

Dr. Heermann, in a subsequent visit to the State, mentions it as being a very common bird in all parts of California. They were once quite numerous among the hollow trees in the vicinity of Sacramento, but have gradually disappeared, as their old haunts were one by one destroyed to make way for the gradual development and growth of that city. Dr. Heermann found a large number in the winter, sheltered during the day among the reeds of Suisun Valley. They were still abundant in the old Catholic Missions, where they frequented the ruined walls and towers, and constructed their nests in the crevices and nooks of those once stately buildings, now falling to decay. These ruins were also a shelter for innumerable bats, reptiles, and vermin, which formed an additional attraction to the Owls.

Dr. Cooper speaks of finding this Owl abundant throughout Southern California, especially near the coast, and Dr. Newberry frequently met with it about San Francisco, San Diego, and Monterey, where it was more common than any other species. He met with it on San Pablo Bay, inhabiting holes in the perpendicular cliffs bordering the south shore. It was also found in the Klamath Basin, but not in great numbers.

Mr. J. H. Clark found the Barn Owl nesting, in May, in holes burrowed into the bluff banks of the Rio Frio, in Texas. These burrows were nearly horizontal, with a considerable excavation near the back end, where the eggs were deposited. These were three or four in number, and of a dirty white. The parent bird allowed the eggs to be handled without manifesting any concern. There was no lining or nest whatever. Lieutenant Couch found them common on the Lower Rio Grande, but rare near Monterey, Mexico. They were frequently met with living in the sides of large deep wells.

Dr. Coues speaks of it as a common resident species in Arizona. It was one of the most abundant Owls of the Territory, and was not unfrequently to be observed at midday. On one occasion he found it preying upon Blackbirds, in the middle of a small open reed swamp.

It is not uncommon in the vicinity of Washington, and after the partial destruction of the Smithsonian Building by fire, for one or two years a pair nested in the top of the tower. It is quite probable that the comparative rarity of the species in the Eastern States is owing to their thoughtless destruction, the result of a short-sighted and mistaken prejudice that drives away one of our most useful birds, and one which rarely does any mischief among domesticated birds, but is, on the contrary, most destructive to rats, mice, and other mischievous and injurious vermin.

Mr. Audubon mentions two of these birds which had been kept in confinement in Charleston, S. C., where their cries in the night never failed to attract others of the species. He regards them as altogether crepuscular in habits, and states that when disturbed in broad daylight they always fly in an irregular and bewildered manner. Mr. Audubon also states that so far as his observations go, they feed entirely on small quadrupeds, as he has never found the remains of any feathers or portions of birds in their stomachs or about their nests. In confinement it partakes freely of any kind of flesh.

The Cuban race (var. _furcata_), also found in other West India islands, is hardly distinguishable from our own bird, and its habits may be presumed to be essentially the same. Mr. Gosse found the breeding-place of the Jamaica Owl at the bottom of a deep limestone pit, in the middle of October; there was one young bird with several eggs. There was not the least vestige of a nest; the bird reposed on a mass of half-digested hair mingled with bones. At a little distance were three eggs, at least six inches apart. On the 12th of the next month he found in the same place the old bird sitting on four eggs, this time placed close together. There was still no nest. The eggs were advanced towards hatching, but in very different degrees, and an egg ready for deposition was found in the oviduct of the old bird.

An egg of this Owl, taken in Louisiana by Dr. Trudeau, measured 1.69 inches in length by 1.38 in breadth. Another, obtained in New Mexico, measures 1.69 by 1.25. Its color is a dirty yellowish-white, its shape an oblong oval, hardly more pointed at the smaller than at the larger end.

An egg from Monterey, California, collected by Dr. Canfield, measures 1.70 inches in length by 1.25 in breadth, of an oblong-oval shape, and nearly equally obtuse at either end. It is of a uniform bluish-white. Another from the Rio Grande is of a soiled or yellowish white, and of the same size and shape.

GENUS OTUS, CUVIER.

_Otus_, CUV. Reg. An. 1799. (Type, _Strix otus_, LINN.)
_Asio_, SWAINS. 1831 (_nec_ BRISSON, 1760).
_Brachyotus_, GOULD, P. Z. S. 1837, 10. (Type, _Stryx brachyotus_.)
_Ægolius_, KEYS. & Bl. 1840 (_nec_ KAUP, 1829).

CHAR. Size medium. Ear-tufts well developed or rudimentary; head small; eyes small. Cere much arched, its length more than the chord of the culmen. Bill weak, compressed. Only the first, or first and second, outer primary with its inner web emarginated. Tail about half the wing, rounded. Ear-conch very large, gill-like, about as long as the height of the skull, with an anterior operculum, which extends its full length, and bordered posteriorly by a raised membrane; the two ears asymmetrical.

Species and Varieties.

=A.= OTUS, Cuvier. Ear-tufts well developed; outer quill only with
inner web emarginated.

Colors blackish-brown and buffy-ochraceous,—the former predominating
above, where mottled with whitish; the latter prevailing beneath,
and variegated with stripes or bars of dusky. Tail, primaries, and
secondaries, transversely barred (obsoletely in _O. stygius_).

1. =O. vulgaris.= Ends of primaries normal, broad; toes feathered;
face ochraceous.

Dusky of the upper parts in form of longitudinal stripes,
contrasting conspicuously with the paler ground-color. Beneath
with ochraceous prevalent; the markings in form of longitudinal
stripes, with scarcely any transverse bars. _Hab._ Europe and
considerable part of the Old World …

var. _vulgaris_.[19]

Dusky of the upper parts in form of confused mottling, not
contrasting conspicuously with the paler ground-color. Beneath
with the ochraceous overlaid by the whitish tips to the
feathers; the markings in form of transverse bars, which are
broader than the narrow medial streak. Wing, 11.50–12.00; tail,
6.00–6.20; culmen, .65; tarsus, 1.20–1.25; middle toe, 1.15.
Wing-formula, 2, 3–4–1. _Hab._ North America …

var. _wilsonianus_.

2. =O. stygius.=[20] Ends of primaries narrow, that of the first
almost falcate; toes entirely naked; face dusky, or with dusky
prevailing.

Above blackish-brown, thinly relieved by an irregular sparse
spotting of yellowish-white. Beneath with the markings in form
of longitudinal stripes, which throw off occasional transverse
arms toward the edge of the feathers. Wing, 13.00; tail, 6.80;
culmen, .90; tarsus, 1.55; middle toe, 1.50. Wing-formula, 2,
3–4, 1. _Hab._ South America.

=B.= BRACHYOTUS, Gould (1837). Similar to _Otus_, but ear-tufts
rudimentary, and the second quill as well as the first with the inner
web emarginated.

Colors ochraceous, or white, and clear dark brown, without shadings
or middle tints. Beneath with narrow longitudinal dark stripes
upon the whitish or ochraceous ground-color; crown and neck
longitudinally striped with dark brown and ochraceous.

3. =O. brachyotus.= Wings and tail nearly equally spotted and
banded with ochraceous and dark brown. Tail with about six bands,
the ochraceous terminal. Face dingy ochraceous, blackish around
the eyes. Wing, about 11.00–13.00; tail, 5.75–6.10; culmen,
.60–.65; tarsus, 1.75–1.80; middle toe, 1.20. _Hab._ Whole world
(except Australia?).

Though this genus is cosmopolitan, the species are few in number; two of them (_O. vulgaris_ and _O. brachyotus_) are common to both North America and Europe, one of them (the latter) found also in nearly every country in the world. Besides these, South Africa has a peculiar species (_O. capensis_) while Tropical America alone possesses the _O. stygius_.

Otus vulgaris, var. wilsonianus, LESS.

LONG-EARED OWL; LESSER-HORNED OWL.

_? Strix peregrinator_ (_?_), BART. Trav. 1792, p. 285.—CASS. B. Cal.
& Tex. 1854, 196. _Asio peregrinator_, STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 1855,
207. _Otus wilsonianus_, LESS. Tr. Orn. 1831, 110.—GRAY, Gen. fol. sp.
2, 1844.—IB. List Birds Brit. Mus. p. 105.—CASS. Birds Cal. & Tex.
1854, 81.—IB. Birds N. Am. 1858, 53.—COOP. & SUCK. 1860, 155.—COUES,
Prod. 1866, 14. _Otus americanus_, BONAP. List, 1838, p. 7.—IB. Consp.
p. 50.—WEDERB. & TRISTR. Cont. Orn. 1849, p. 81.—KAUP, Monog. Strig.
Cont. Orn. 1852, 113.—IB. Trans. Zoöl. Soc. IV, 1859, 233.—MAX. Cab.
Jour. VI, 1858, 25.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 1869, No. 540, p. 50. _Strix
otus_, WILS. Am. Orn. 1808, pl. li, f. 1.—RICH. & SW. F. B. A. II,
72.—BONAP. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. II, 37.—IB. Isis, 1832, 1140.—AUD. Orn.
Biog. IV, 572.—IB. Birds Am. pl. ccclxxxiii.—PEAB. Birds, Mass. 88.
_Ulula otus_, JARD. ed. Wils. Am. Orn. I, 1831, 104.—BREWER, ed.
Wils. Am. Orn. Synop. p. 687.—NUTT. Man. 130. _Otus vulgaris_ (not
of Fleming!), JARDINE, ed. Wils. Am. Orn. 1832, II, 278.—AUD. Synop.
1831, 28.—GIRAUD, Birds Long Island, p. 25. _Otus vulgaris_, var.
_wilsonianus_ (RIDGWAY), COUES, Key, 1872, 204. _Bubo asio_, DE KAY,
Zoöl. N. Y. II, 25, pl. xii, f. 25.

SP. CHAR. _Adult._ Upper surface transversely mottled with blackish-brown and grayish-white, the former predominating, especially on the dorsal region; feathers of the nape and wings (only), ochraceous beneath the surface, lower scapulars with a few obsolete spots of white on lower webs. Primary coverts dusky, with transverse series of dark mottled grayish spots, these becoming somewhat ochraceous basally; ground-color of the primaries grayish, this especially prevalent on the inner quills; the basal third (or less) of all are ochraceous, this decreasing in extent on inner feathers; the grayish tint is everywhere finely mottled transversely with dusky, but the ochraceous is plain; primaries crossed by a series of about seven quadrate blackish-brown spots, these anteriorly about as wide as the intervening yellowish or mottled grayish; the interval between the primary coverts to the first of these spots is about .80 to 1.00 inch on the fourth quill,—the spots on the inner and outer feathers approaching the coverts, or even underlying them; the inner primaries—or, in fact, the general exposed grayish surface—has much narrower bars of dusky. Ground-color of the wings like the back, this growing paler on the outer feathers, and becoming ochraceous basally; the tip approaching whitish; secondaries crossed by nine or ten narrow bands of dusky.

Ear-tufts, with the lateral portion of each web, ochraceous; this becoming white, somewhat variegated with black, toward the end of the inner webs, on which the ochraceous is broadest; medial portion clear, unvariegated black. Forehead and post-auricular disk minutely speckled with blackish and white; facial circle continuous brownish-black, becoming broken into a variegated collar across the throat. “Eyebrows” and lores grayish-white; eye surrounded with blackish, this broadest anteriorly above and below, the posterior half being like the ear-coverts. Face plain ochraceous; chin and upper part of the throat immaculate white. Ground-color below pale ochraceous, the exposed surface of the feathers, however, white; breast with broad longitudinal blotches of clear dark brown, these medial, on the feathers; sides and flanks, each feather with a medial stripe, crossed by as broad, or broader, transverse bars, of blackish-brown; abdomen, tibial plumes, and legs plain ochraceous, becoming nearly white on the lower part of tarsus and on the toes; tibial plumes with a few sagittate marks of brownish; lower tail-coverts each having a medial sagittate mark of dusky, this continuing along the shaft, forking toward the base. Lining of the wing plain pale ochraceous; inner primary coverts blackish-brown, forming a conspicuous spot.

_Otus wilsonianus._]

♂ (51,227, Carlisle, Penn.; S. F. Baird). Wing formula, 2, 3–1, 4, etc. Wing, 11.50; tail, 6.20; culmen, .65; tarsus, 1.20; middle toe, 1.15.

♀ (2,362, Professor Baird’s collection, Carlisle, Penn.). Wing formula, 2, 3–4–1. Wing, 12.00; tail, 6.00; culmen, .65; tarsus, 1.25; middle toe, 1.15.

_Young_ (49,568, Sacramento, Cal., June 21, 1867; Clarence King, Robert Ridgway). Wings and tail as in the adult; other portions transversely banded with blackish-brown and grayish-white, the latter prevailing anteriorly; eyebrows and loral bristles entirely black; legs white.

HAB. Whole of temperate North America? Tobago? (JARDINE).

Localities: Tobago (JARDINE, Ann. Mag. 18, 116); Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 50).

The American Long-eared Owl is quite different in coloration from the _Otus vulgaris_ of Europe. In the latter, ochraceous prevails over the whole surface, even above, where the transverse dusky mottling does not approach the uniformity that it does in the American bird; in the European bird, each feather above has a conspicuous medial longitudinal stripe of dark brownish: these markings are found everywhere except on the rump and upper tail-coverts, where the ochraceous is deepest, and transversely clouded with dusky mottling; in the American bird, no longitudinal stripes are visible on the upper surface. The ochraceous of the lower surface is, in the _vulgaris_, varied only (to any considerable degree) by the sharply defined medial longitudinal stripes to the feathers, the transverse bars being few and inconspicuous; in _wilsonianus_, white overlies the ochraceous below, and the longitudinal are less conspicuous than the transverse markings; the former on the breast are broader than in _vulgaris_, in which, also, the ochraceous at the bases of the primaries occupies a greater extent. Comparing these very appreciable differences with the close resemblance of other representative styles of the two continents (differences founded on shade or depth of tints alone), we were almost inclined to recognize in the American Long-eared Owl a specific value to these discrepancies.

The _Otus stygius_, Wagl., of South America and Mexico, is entirely distinct, as will be seen from the foregoing synoptical table.

HABITS. This species appears to be one of the most numerous of the Owls of North America, and to be pretty generally distributed. Its strictly nocturnal habits have caused it to be temporarily overlooked in localities where it is now known to be present and not rare. Dr. William Gambel and Dr. Heermann both omit it from their lists of the birds of California, though Dr. J. G. Cooper has since found it quite common. It was once supposed not to breed farther south than New Jersey, but it is now known to be resident in South Carolina and in Arizona, and is probably distributed through all the intervening country. Donald Gunn writes that to his knowledge this solitary bird hunts in the night, both summer and winter, in the Red River region. It there takes possession of the deserted nests of crows, and lays four white eggs. He found it as far as the shores of Hudson’s Bay. Richardson states it to be plentiful in the woods skirting the plains of the Saskatchewan, frequenting the coast of the bay in the summer, and retiring into the interior in the winter. He met with it as high as the 16th parallel of latitude, and believed it to occur as far as the forests extend.

Dr. Cooper met with this species on the banks of the Columbia, east of the Dalles. The region was desolate and barren, and several species of Owls appeared to have been drawn there by the abundance of hares and mice. Dr. Suckley also met with it on a branch of Milk River, in Nebraska. It has likewise been taken in different parts of California, in New Mexico, among the Rocky Mountains, in the valley of the Rio Grande, at Fort Benton, and at Cape Florida, in the last-named place by Mr. Würdemann.

Dr. Cooper found this Owl quite common near San Diego, and in March observed them sitting in pairs in the evergreen oaks, apparently not much troubled by the light. On the 27th of March he found a nest, probably that of a Crow, built in a low evergreen oak, in which a female Owl was sitting on five eggs, then partly hatched. The bird was quite bold, flew round him, snapping her bill at him, and tried to draw him away from the nest; the female imitating the cries of wounded birds with remarkable accuracy, showing a power of voice not supposed to exist in Owls, but more in the manner of a Parrot. He took one of the eggs, and on the 23d of April, on revisiting the nest, he found that the others had hatched. The egg measured 1.60 by 1.36 inches. Dr. Cooper also states that he has found this Owl wandering into the barren treeless deserts east of the Sierra Nevada, where it was frequently to be met with in the autumn, hiding in the thickets along the streams. It also resorts to caves, where any are to be found.

Dr. Kennerly met with this bird in the cañons west of the Aztec Mountains, where they find good places for their nests, which they build, in common with Crows and Hawks, among the precipitous cliffs,—places unapproachable by the wolf and lynx.

On the Atlantic coast the Long-eared Owl occurs in more or less abundance from Nova Scotia to Florida. It is found in the vicinity of Halifax, according to Mr. Downes, and about Calais according to Mr. Boardman, though not abundantly in either region. In Western Maine, and in the rest of New England, it is more common. It has been known to breed at least as far south as Maryland, Mr. W. M. McLean finding it in Rockville. Mr. C. N. Holden, Jr., during his residence at Sherman, in Wyoming Territory, met with a single specimen of this bird. A number of Magpies were in the same bush, but did not seem either to molest or to be afraid of it.

The food of this bird consists chiefly of small quadrupeds, insects, and, to some extent, of small birds of various kinds. Audubon mentions finding the stomach of one stuffed with feathers, hair, and bones.

The Long-eared Owl appears to nest for the most part in trees, and also frequently to make use of the nests of other birds, such as Crows, Hawks, or Herons. Occasionally, however, they construct nests for themselves. Audubon speaks of finding such a one near the Juniata River, in Pennsylvania. This was composed of green twigs with the leaflets adhering, and lined with fresh grass and sheep’s wool, but without feathers. Mr. Kennicott sent me from Illinois an egg of this bird, that had been taken from a nest on the ground; and, according to Richardson, in the fur regions it sometimes lays its eggs in that manner, at other times in the deserted nests of other birds, on low bushes. Mr. Hutchins speaks of its depositing them as early as April. Richardson received one found in May; and another nest was observed, in the same neighborhood, which contained three eggs on the 5th of July. Wilson speaks of this Owl as having been abundant in his day in the vicinity of Philadelphia, and of six or seven having been found in a single tree. He also mentions it as there breeding among the branches of tall trees, and in one particular instance as having taken possession of the nest of a Qua Bird (_Nyctiardea gardeni_), where Wilson found it sitting on four eggs, while one of the Herons had her own nest on the same tree. Audubon states that it usually accommodates itself by making use of the abandoned nests of other birds, whether these are built high or low. It also makes use of the fissures of rocks, or builds on the ground.

As this Owl is known to breed early in April, and as numerous instances are given of their eggs being taken in July, it is probable they have two broods in a season. Mr. J. S. Brandigee, of Berlin, Conn., found a nest early in April, in a hemlock-tree, situated in a thick dark evergreen woods. The nest was flat, made of coarse sticks, and contained four fresh eggs when the parent was shot.

Mr. Ridgway found this Owl to be very abundant in the Sacramento Valley, as well as throughout the Great Basin, in both regions inhabiting dense willow copses near the streams. In the interior it generally lays its eggs in the deserted nests of the Magpie.

The eggs of this Owl, when fresh, are of a brilliant white color, with a slight pinkish tinge, which they preserve even after having been blown, if kept from the light. They are of a rounded-oval shape, and obtuse at either end. They vary considerably in size, measuring from 1.65 to 1.50 inches in length, and from 1.30 to 1.35 inches in breadth. Two eggs, taken from the same nest by Rev. C. M. Jones, have the following measurements: one 1.60 by 1.34 inches, the other 1.50 by 1.30 inches.

Otus (Brachyotus) brachyotus, STEPH.

SHORT-EARED OWL; MARSH OWL.