(JKEAT HORNED OWL. 235 



His visits to the fiinii-liousc art' well uii(l(Mst<Mi(l, and if followed 

 hv disaster, it is usually to tin- iioultiy, or to the bird himself, if the 

 farmer's boys can so aiiange matters. He is of a most savage and 

 untamable nature, excelling- any of the owls in strength and ferocity. 

 If brought to trial in Ontario, he \v(.uld uiidoul)tedly l)e condemned 

 to be killed off at once, on account of his depredations in the hen 

 roost and dove cot ; but we are told that in some i)ai-ts of the west, 

 where rabbits are so numerous that it is next to impossible to bring 

 to matuinty any lai'ge proportion of the crops, the Great Horned Owl 

 feeds on this destructive rodent, almost to the ejiclusion of other 

 food, and thus l)ecouu's a most valual)le ally to the farmer. On this 

 account he has l)een placed in Class <; among those birds wliose good 

 and evil deeds are about equal. 



On account of the variation in size and plumage, according to the 

 region they inhabit, the American Ornithologists" Union Conmiittee 

 records three sub-species of the Great Horned Owl emanating from the 

 original /^nho rirf/iin<niHs. These Mr. Ridgway describes as follows : 



87.")rt. Biiho nr(/iinaiiiis .snbcuxtkiis^WestGvn Homed Owl. (General aspect 

 of plumage : above, grayish, with more oi- less of Iniffy admixture, dark 

 markings of lower paits distinct. 



Hab.— Western United States (except north-west coast), eastward across 

 great plains, straggling to northern Illinois, Wisconsin and Western Canada, 

 north to ^lanitoba, south over tal)le-lands of ^Mexico. 



.'i7.">/<. Biiho n'n/iniainis arrfiru--<— Arctic Horned Owl. (General aspect of 

 ])lumage : above, white through fading of the ground color and restriction of 

 dark markings : beneath, pure wliite witli daik markings, usually much 

 restricted. 



Hab.— Arctic America, chiefly in the interior, south in winter to northern 

 Rocky Mountains and (ireat Plains, Dakota, Montana, etc. 



:rjv. Bnho rirginianii-s .sat ttra/ii.'^— Dusky Horned Owl. Extremely dark- 

 colored ; the face, usually sooty brownish, mixed with grayish-white ; the 

 plumage, usually without excess of ochraceous or tawny, sometimes with none. 



Hab.— North-west coast from Oregon noi-th to Alaska, Labrador. 



The common form in Southern Ontario is the original Jhtho virgin- 

 i(mui<, but I have also had one or two which answer the description 

 given of the western variety, and several apparently intermediate. 

 From Manitoba I have one as white as a female Snowy Owl, and from 

 the dense forests of British Columbia 1 have several which are very 

 dark. All of these varieties are smaller than the typical species, the 

 best developed specimens of which are found farther south. A full 

 iiluma^ed female of /liiln> virt/ini(()U(s is a very handsome bird, rich 

 in markings, and the strongest and fiercest of all the American owls, 

 .a perfect Hying tiger when loose among the game or poultry. 



