STKIGIDJB. OTUS WILSONIANUS. 67 



OTUS WILSONIANUS. 



Strix americana, GMELIN, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 288. 



" " BONAP. Cons. Avium, p. 50. 



Strix peregrina/or, BARTKAM, Trav. 1791, p. 289. 

 Strix otus, WILSON, Am. Orn. VI, 1812, 52. 



" " BONAP. Syn. 1829, p. 37. 



" " NUTTALL, Manual, I, 1832, 130. 



" AUD. Orn. Biog. IV, 1835, 573, pi. ccclxxxiii. 

 Olus wilsonianus, LESSON, Traite d'Orn. I, 1831, 110. 



" " CASSIN, Syn. N. A. Birds (Illust. Birds of Cal.), 1854, p. 181. 



Olus americanus, BONAP. Geog. and Comp. List, 1838, p. 7. 

 Otus vulgaris, AUD. Syn. 1839, p. 28. 



" " " Birds of Am. I, 1840, 136, pi. xxxvi. 



VULG. The Long-eared Owl. American Long-eared Owl. The Prairie Ou-1. 



THIS is a Northern and Eastern species, and does not appear to have been met with 

 on the western coast south of Oregon. At least, neither Dr. Gambel nor Dr. Heer- 

 Hiaiiu observed the present species in California, although Dr. Cooper obtained speci- 

 mens in Washington Territory and Dr. Townsend in Oregon. Its supposed absence, 

 however, from that State may be an error, as, owing to its strictly nocturnal habits, 

 it is not readily procured, and may in consequence have been overlooked. Sir 

 John Richarxlson found this Owl as far to the north as latitude 60, and thinks 

 that its range probably extends to the extreme limits of the forests. It breeds 

 on the eastern coast, from the Arctic regions to New Jersey, but is rarely found 

 south of that State. On the Pacific its limits are as yet not well defined. It is said 

 to be plentiful on the Saskatchewan, but its abundance elsewhere is rather in- 

 ferred than actually known. Appearing rarely in the daytime, it is not very fre- 

 quently met with by naturalists. According to Sir John Richardson, in the fur 

 regions it sometimes lays its eggs on the ground, 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 ob- 

 served, 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 men- 

 tions it as there breeding among the branches of tall trees, and in one particular 

 instance the Long-eared Owl had taken possession of the nest of a Qua Bird (Ardea 

 nycticorax}, where Wilson found it sitting on four eggs, while one of the Herons had 

 her own nest on the same tree. 



Audubon states that the American Long-eared Owl 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. He also 

 states that it sometimes constructs a nest of its own. He found one near the Juni- 

 ata River, in Pennsylvania, composed of green twigs with the leaflets adhering, and 

 lined with fresh grass and sheep's wool, but without feathers. In the summer of 



