214. [June, 



Circus, Lacep. 



2. C. Cyaneus, Li?m. Marsh Hawk. 



The Harrier I found in very great numbers on the plains stretching fronn the 

 Pecos river to the Apache mountains, in February ; whereas in October following 

 but few were seen in the same region; stragglers were, however, met with in 

 the lower plains, everywhere. 



Athene, Boie, 



3. A. Hypugcea, Bonap, [S. Cunicularia, Gmel.'] Burrowing Owl. 



This singular little owl I found, occasionally, along the Rio Grande, from Val 

 Verde to Santa Fe, and quite abundant in the Valley of Las Vegas. It was abroad 

 at all hours of the day, and often amused me with its odd manners; taking 

 wing at the near approach of my horse, and again alighting at the distance of a 

 few yards, when it would face towards me and make, almost uniformly, three 

 distinct and formal bows, with a mock solemnity that was irresistably ludicrous. 

 Between sunset and dark, however, I always observed them to be most numerous ; 

 and at this hour they were, also, more shy and less ceremonious. 



There is a general impression, that chis owl habitually takes up its abode in the 

 dominions of the " Prairie Dog" where, in company with the Rattlesnake, it 

 feeds freely upon the young marmots. That it has been found, in some regions, 

 in the dog towns, seems to be established on reliable authority ; indeed I have 

 conversed with more than one person who was a witness to the fact. Still, I 

 am rather disposed to look upon the fact as an accidental occurrence, than as an 

 instinctive or positive habit of the bird. My own experience, too, tends to any- 

 thing but the corroboration of this testimony; fori have met vfiVa Hypugaea 

 in various places, from Fort Gibson, in Arkansas, to the Rocky Mountains ; and 

 it has never, in one instance, been my fortune to find it in company with the 

 Marmot. 



On the high, dry plains between the Pecos river and the Apache mountains, J 

 rode for days through the dog towns, as they are called, and did not see a single 

 owl, although the whole land seemed vivacious with marmots. Again; both on 

 the east and west of the Valley of Las Vegas, where, as already observed, this 

 owl is found in great numbers, there are within a few miles of the edge of the 

 valley, on the high dry plains, extensive settlements of the marmots ; and yet I 

 never saw an owl about their burrows, in repeatedly passing through them. Nor 

 is the most usual food of this owl found on high sandy plains; but in low lands, 

 near water courses ; and here I have always found him most numerous. With a 

 view to satisfy my own mind on this point, I studied these animals closely, on 

 this expedition ; in the northern parts of New Mexico, in the months of August 

 and September; and in the Apache country in February and October. 



It may not, perhaps, be amiss to remark here, with respect to the reported 

 lihernating habits of the marmot, [Arctomys Ludoviciana,] that on the high 

 plains of the Limpia, and also on those among the Apache mountains, these fro- 

 licksome little fellows made their appearance above ground, in crowds, soon after 

 sunrise, and remained abroad, frisking and barking, until about 2 o'clock, P. M., 

 in the month of February, although the nights and mornings were cold the ther- 

 mometer sometimes indicating a temperature 10* or 12'" below the freezing point,- 

 at sunrise. What may be their habits in higher latitudes, where the earth is for 



