302 



MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



a silent bird and the few notes heard are low-toned and rather pleasing 

 than otherwise. One is a soft-toned 'wee-hunk, wee-hunk,' slowly and 

 several times repeated — another is a low twittering, whistling note like 

 'dicky, dicky, dicky' " (Life Histories, I, 328). 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Ear-tufts (feather-horns or plumicorns) very conspicuous, black or black and tawny, 

 edged with whitish on inner margin; first primary emarginate on inner web near tip; 

 facial disk rusty or buffy, lightest between eyes and bill, edged with black; upper parts 

 mottled with brownish-black, buff and white; mider parts buffy white, thickly and broadly 

 streaked with dusky on the breast, spotted and barred (in "herring-bone" pattern) on 

 belly and sides with dusky and clear black; primaries heavily marked with blackish and 

 buffy cross bars, the dark bars broadest; tail with six to ten narrow dusky cross bars, the 

 spaces between being light grayish-brown on the upper surface, nearly white below; tarsi 

 and toes pale buff, unmarked; bill blackisli with lighter tip; iris dark yellow. 



Length 13 to 16 inches; wing 11.50 to 12; tail (i to (5. 20. (The larger measurements 

 are those of the female.) 



Fig. 79. Long-eared Owlf^ 

 I'hof«frnii)li from lif<' by 



About throe weeks old. 

 . Tlioitias H. Jackson. 



151. Short-eared Owl, Asio flammeus {Pont.). (367) 



Synonyms: Marsh Owl, Swamp Owl, Prairie Owl. — Strix flammea, Pont., 17G3. — 

 Strjx accipitrina. Pall., 1771. — Strix brachyotus, Gmel., Wils., Aud. — Brachyotus palus- 

 tris, Bonap., 1838.— Brachyotus palustris americanus, Bonap., 1849. — Otus (Brachyotus) 

 brachyotus, B. B. & R., 1875. — Asio accipitrinus, A. O. U. Check-list, 1895. 



Plate XXIV. 



A medium sized owl, just about the size of the Crow, heavily streaked 

 above and below with buffy white and dark brown, and with ear-tufts very 

 inconspicuous, but to bfe found if carefully looked for. 



