THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 109 



showed that 1 contained poultry, 3 other birds, 17 mice, 

 17 other mammals, 4 insects and 7 were empty. 



Ou'l^ Bfirred^ or Moot Owl.— Length, sixteen and a 

 half inches; extent, thirty-eight inches; bill, one and a half 

 inches, yellow with a greenish tinge; above, dark brown, 

 some of the feathers with rusty markings and all barred 

 transversely with white, bars broken into spots on the 

 shoulders; wings and tail, dark brown, transversely barred 

 with white; face and breast, dull white, barred with dark 

 brown: belly, white, streaked longitudinally with brown; 

 legs, dull white, tinged with brown. 



The birds nest in hollow trees and some times in abandon- 

 ed Crow's or Hawk's nests. The eggs are two to four in 

 number and two inches by one and three-fifths in size. 



They breed between southern Canada and Georgia, gen- 

 erally in the mountain forests and are rare visitants to 

 New Jersey. 



Government examination of 1(»!) stomachs showed that 

 5 contained poultry or game, 13 other birds, 46 mice, 18 

 other mammals, 4 frogs, 1 lizard, 2 fish, 14 insects, 2 

 spiders, 9 crawfish and 2o w^ere empty. 



Owl^ Cat, See Long-eared Owi. 



Oit'l^ fiireaf Mioriutt^ or Hoot Owl. — Length, twenty- 

 two inches; extent, four feet, three inches; the female is 

 two inches larger. The bill is one and two-fifths inches 

 long, black and powerful, covered at the base with a 

 cere; eyes, golden yellow; the horns are three inches in 

 length and very broad, consisting of twelve or fourteen 

 feathers, their wel»s black, broadly edged with tawny; 

 face, rusty, bounded on each side by a band of black; 

 si)ace between the eyes and bill, whitish; whole lower 

 parts elegantly marked with numerous transverse bars of 

 dusky, on a bright tawny ground, thinly interspersed 

 with white, white more conspicuous on the center of the 

 bi-east; legs and feet, large and coviu-ed with feathers, or 



