330 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



of the two successive eggs, and frequently one or two young birds and an 

 unhatched egg may be found in a nest together. It has been surmised 

 that this is designed by the old bird as a matter of convenience, the warmth 

 of the chicks protecting the freshly laid egg from freezing, so that the parent 

 may be absent for longer intervals in search of food. This, however, seems 

 to be merely an inference from a few observed facts. When first hatched 

 the young are covered with white down, and although they grow rapidly 

 they do not acquire their flight feathers until two months old and probably 

 remain in the nest from two to three months after they are hatched. 



According to Bendire "The common call whieh is most often uttered, 

 and I believe that of the male, is a far-reaching ' too-hoot-too-hoot-too-hooh,' 

 while the answering one of the female is shorter, and usually consists simply 

 of a '00/ or 'to-oo.' Aside from these they have several others, one a 

 cat-like squeal or cry like ,waah-hu,' and again a series of yelps similar to 

 the barking of a dog." When heard at a little distance the hoot of this 

 owl may easily be mistaken for the ordinary crossing whistle of a loco- 

 motive, and at times it bears quite a strong resemblance to the notes of 

 the Morning Dove. When near at hand, however, the notes are too loud 

 and harsh to be mistaken for anything else. 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Large; ear-tufts (plumicorns) very conspicuous; iris bright yellow; bill and claws black; 

 toes fully feathered; first three or four primaries emarginate or sinuate on inner webs. 



Adult: Upper parts mottled black, white and rusty (tawny), the latter the prevaihng 

 color beneath the surface, the superficial pattern made up of narrow, wavy or zigzag, white 

 cross-bars, and wider black interspaces, giving the effect on head, neck and "cape" of a 

 gray ground-color broadly and irregularly striped with black; facial disk brownish gray 

 or rusty gray, with a broad black outer border and usually several concentric blackish 

 lines; a conspicuous snow-white patch on the lower throat, forming an imperfect collar; 

 rest of imder parts white, broadly and irregularly streaked with black on tlie chest, and 

 closely and evenly barred with black elsewhere, sometimes with a good deal of rufous 

 intermixed; wing and tail feathers barred with gray and black, the tail showing about six 

 distinct black bars. 



Young: At first covered with snow-white down, which becomes buffy or even tawny, 

 spotted and later barred with brown or dusky everywhere except on legs and feet; the 

 wing and tail-feathers from the first have essentially the same colors and pattern as when 

 adult; the ear-tufts are visible in the down of the half grown bird and the characteristic 

 black border of the facial disk and white throat patch also appear at about the same age. 



There is immense individual variation in adults, particularly as to the proportions 

 of rufous, black, and white, and the coarseness of the pattern. Females are noticeably 

 larger than males, but there seem to be no constant color differences. 



Male: Length 18 to 23 inches; wing 14.50 to 15.25; tail about 8.25; weight about 3^ lbs. 



Female: Length 22 to 25 inches; extent about 57; wing 16; tail 9. 



158. Western Horned Owl. Bubo virginianus pallescens Stone. (375a) 



. Synonyms: The synonymy is so involved that it seems useless to attempt to untangle 

 it here. 



This western subspecies very closely resembles typical virginianus, but 

 is characterized by a decidedly lighter tone of coloration and by somewhat 

 smaller average size. The two forms, however, are separable only by the 

 expert. 



Distribution. — The distribution is given by the A. O. U. Check-Ust (1910) 

 as western United States (exclusive of the higher mountains) from eastern 

 Oregon, Montana, and Minnesota south to southeastern California, Arizona, 

 New Mexico, western Texas, and northeastern Mexico. 



This form, or its equivalent, has been included in several earlier lists, 

 but the specimens upon which the claims were based are inaccessible and 



