306 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



were brought to the University Museum to be mounted. They were taken 

 in a marsh seven miles southwest of Ann Arbor and must have been bred 

 where they were found" (N. A. Wood). There is also in our Agricultural 

 College collection the skin of an adult female taken on Chandler's Marsh, 

 Ingham county, June 21, 1897, by Thomas L. Hankinson. 



Of 87 stomachs reported ujDon liy Dr. A. K. Fisher, 11 contained small 

 birds; 77, mice; 7, other mammals and 7, insects. While this would indicate 

 that the food consisted mainly of mice, which we believe to be the case, it 

 seems likely that when feeding young in the nest this owl may prey more 

 extensively upon birds. In "Birds of Wisconsin," p. 69, we find an account 

 of a nest of three young found at Delevan, Wis., May 29, 1898, which were 

 "literally resting oh a mass of wing and tail-feathers of the victims of their' 

 appetites. From this mass we picked out over 600 feathers, and among 

 them positively identified more than 30 species of birds. No trace of a 

 mammal was foimd either about the nest or in the pellets around it." 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Ear-tufts or plumicorns rudimentary, scarcely visible; first primary emarginate on inner 

 web near tip. Adult: Facial disk coal black about the eyes, grayish or buffy about the 

 edge, whitish above the inner corners of the eyes; chin white; upper parts buffy white to 

 deep buff or even rufous, thickly and broadly streaked with brownish black; under parts 

 similar, but the dark stripes bi'oad and close only on the throat and chest, becoming 

 narrower and scantier on breast and belly, and sometimes entirely wanting on the under 

 tail-coverts; tarsi and toes closely feathered, pale bufT, unmarked; first three i)rimaries 

 with two dark bars on inner webs near tiie tips, and usually with a third spot or imperfect 

 bar about the middle; rest of inner web buffy or whitish; tail whitish, buffy or rusty, 

 with four or five narrow dusky bars; bill blackish; iris dark yellow. 



The female is larger than the male, but not otherwise different; the young of tlie year 

 are darker than old ))irds, especially above, while the imder parts are less thickly streaked, 

 sometimes not, at all. Length 13.80 to 16.75 inches; wing 11.80 to 13; tail 5.80 to 6.10. 



152. Barred Owl. Strix varia varia Barton. (368) 



Synonyms: Hoot Owl, Rain Owl, Wood Owl. — Strix varius, Bart., 1799. — Strix 

 nebulosa, Forst., and the older authors generally. — Syrnium nebulosum, (iray, 1844, 

 and most recent writers. 



Plate XXV. 



Known from the Great Horned Owl by its somewhat smaller size and 

 absence of ear-tufts; also by the greenish-yellow beak and dark brown e3^es. 

 The only other owl with which it could be confounded it the Great Gray 

 Owl, which is decidedly larger (although of about the same weight) and has 

 a yellow eye instead of a brown one. 



Distribution. — Eastern United States, west to Minnesota, Nebraska, 

 Kansas and Texas, north to Nova Scotia and Quebec. Breeds throughout 

 its range. 



This is undoubtedly the commonest large owl in Michigan and the one 

 most often killed by "sportsmen." It is a bird of the forest and is seldom 

 seen outside of the woods, although often obliged to be contented with the 

 fringe of large trees along a stream. Its range does not extend much farther 

 north than Upper Michigan, and probably it is more abundant in the 

 southern half of the state; but it has a decided preference for heavily 

 wooded regions and has decreased rapidly wherever the country has been 

 cleared up. 



