BIKDS OF PREY. 



549 



mice and other small nocturnal animals, ejecting from the 

 mouth a ball of the indigestible portions of their meal. 

 The little burrowing owl of the western plains (Spheotyto 

 cunicularia, var. hypogcea] consorts with the prairie dogs and 

 rattlesnakes, nesting in the holes when deserted. Their 

 rusty, dull hues assimilate them with the color of the soil 

 they inhabit. Our largest owl is the great gray owl (Syr- 

 nium cinereum] ; it is nearly f metre (2 feet) in length, and 



Fig. 473. Carolina Parroquet. From Coues' Key. 



is an inhabitant of Arctic America. A visitor in winter 

 from the Arctic regions is the snowy owl (Nyctea nivea), 

 which is nearly fm., or two feet long. The great horned 

 owl (Bubo Virginianus) is about the same size as the snowy 

 owl, but has two conspicuous ear-tufts, adding to its height 

 and its general impressiveness as a bird of more than ordi- 

 nary sagacity. 



Of more intelligence and gifted with the power of speech 



