188 



KEY AXD DESCRIPTION 



brown. This is a night-flying bird, passing its time during the 



day among dense trees. It gets its name from a resemblance 



of its notes to the noise made in filing a saw. Mice form its 



main food. (Acadian Owl.) 



Length, 8 ; wing, 5| (5|-5J) ; tail, 2; ; tarsus, J ; culmen, f. North 

 America ; breeding from the Middle States nortliward (south to Mexico, 

 in the mountains), and wandering irregularly southward in winter. 



7. Screech Owl (373. M^gascops tlsio). — A very common, 

 small, night-flying owl. with consi)icuous ear tufts, and weird, 



whistling notes. It is found in varie- 

 ties of two colors, distinctly reddish and 

 distinctly grayish. The Ijack is finely 

 streaked and dappled ; the under parts 

 are white-streaked, blotched and barred 

 with dark colors, giving them a varie- 

 gated appearance. The yointg is more 

 regularly barred than the adult. This 

 (jwl prefers orchards near human habi- 

 tations, to the wild woods, for its home. 

 Its food consists of insects, mice, and 

 birds. 



Length, 7J-10 ; wing, 6\ (6-7J) ; tail, S\ ; 

 culmen, j. N^orth America from the Plains 

 ea.st\vard, south to Georgia, and north to New 

 Brunswick and Minne.sota ; practically resi- 

 dent throughout. The Florida Screech Owl 

 (oTS*. M. a.floridaniis), of South Carolina to 

 Louisiana, mainly near the coast, is a smaller bird, with the colors deeper, 

 and the markings more distinct. Wing, (5 ; tail, 3. The Texas Screech 

 Owl (373''. M. a. trirhopsis), of southern Texas to Central .\uierica, has the 

 small size of tlie Florida bird, and the two phases of color of the couunon 

 screech owl, but is more regularly streaked and barred ; thus it lacks the 

 blotchy appearance which is so characteristic of the northern form. 



8. Great Horned Owl (375. Bubo virginiilnus). — A very large, 

 yellow-ej'ed, long-eared, finely mottled, brownish owl, usually 

 marked with a white collar. The under parts are reddish-buff 

 barred with black. This bird inhabits dense forests of the 

 sparsely settled sections, and is probably the only owl that 



Screech Owl 



