HORNED OWLS, ETC. 177 



rodents aud seldom touches insectivorous birds.' As it is easily 

 destroyed, he says it is the owl that suffers most when short-sighted 

 legislators enact laws for the destruction of birds of pre}\ 



867. Asio accipitrinus {Pall). Short-eared Owl. 



Adults. — Ear tufts inconspicuous ; eyes with black ring- and white eye- 

 brows ; body varying- from yellowish brown 

 to buffy white, conspicuously streaked with 

 dark brown ; wings and tail irreg-ularly 

 banded with dark brown and buffy or yel- 

 lowish brown. Young : face brownish 

 black, under parts plain dull buffy, tinged 

 with g-ray in front ; upper parts dark 

 brown, the feathers tipped with yellowish 

 brown. Length: lo.S0-l().T5, wing- 11.80- 

 18.00, tail .'xSO-O.lO, bill .60-.(j5. 



Distribution. — Entire western henu- 

 sphere except Galapag-os Islands and part 

 of the West Indies ; also nearly throughout 

 the eastern heniispliere. excepting- Austra- 

 lia. Breeds in the United States irreg-u- 

 larly and locally from about latitude 89° „ ,, , ■ , o y c i» . 



•',,•' From Biological Survej, L. S. Uept. 



northward. of Agriculture. 



Nest. — Of coarse grass and sticks, loosely Fig. 244. 



put together, and sparsely lined with fine 

 material and feathers of the bird. Eggs : 4 to 7, white. 



Food. — Larg-ely mice ; also gophers, shrews, rabbits, grasshoppers, 

 crickets, and beetles. 



The habits of the short-cared owl are (luite unique. While most 

 owls live in trees and woods this bird rarely lights in a tree, making 

 its home in the open country, coast marshes, and islands covered 

 with bushes and high grass. It hides in the grass on bright days, 

 but in cloudy weather often hunts in the morning and evening or 

 even the middle of the day, tlying low over the ground in its search 

 for gophers, mice, and grasshoppers, when its long wings make it 

 seem very large. On the salt marshes of Gray's Harbor, where Mr. 

 Lawrence found the owls flying about conmionly in misty weather, 

 he says they looked ' as big as eagles. ' There, he says, they sat 

 on the edges of the sloughs watching for rats. When flying high, 

 sporting, or chasing some large bird, he heard them give a shrill 

 barking call like the /.-/-/// of a small dog. 



GENUS SYRNILTM. 



General Characters. — Wing 12-1."), rounded; no ear tufts ; ear opening 

 large and with a distinct anterior Hap, the two ears conspicuously differ- 

 ent; tip of toe exposed. 



KKV TO Sl'KClES. 



1. Head and neck barred. 



2. rpper parts dark brown nebulosum. ji. 178. 



2'. Upper jiarts pal." y.'llowisli brown .... helveolum, p. 178. 



