164 BULLETIN 17 0, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



gray, of blackish and whitish tones in vertical streaks, resembling the 

 rough gray bark of an old tree No color was visible except the 

 yellow of the eyes, which gazed at me fixedly. It was a most remark- 

 able protective attitude." 



The flight of the long-eared owl is light, buoyant, and as noiseless 

 as that of other owls. Its long wings and tail are more than ample for 

 its light, slim body; consequently it sometimes seems to hover or 

 flutter like a butterfly. Its gliding flight is swift at times, but it is 

 seldom, if ever, called upon to capture birds on the wing. Generally 

 its prey is silently approached and pounced upon. Although it 

 hunts occasionally on dark days, its hunting is done mainly during the 

 dusk of evening or early morning, or on moonlight nights. Whether 

 it hunts to any great extent during the darkest hours of the night we 

 do not know. The widely spread notion that owls cannot see in the 

 daytime is, of course, an error. This, and all other owls that I am 

 familiar with, can see just as well in daylight as other birds; and this 

 one is especially expert in threading its way through the intricacies of 

 the woods and thickets in which it takes its daylight naps. 



Voice. — The long-eared owl is a versatile vocalist; its vocabulary is 

 long and varied. The notes that I have heard have all been given in 

 the vicinity of the nest; at other times this owl is a remarkably silent 

 bird. The soft, hooting notes are recorded in my field notes as 

 quoo-quoo-quoo, or as a more prolonged, single quoo-oo-oo, somewhat 

 like the notes of the screech owl in quality. They are not harsh but 

 rather musical and mellow. A still softer whoqf-whoqf-whoqf is 

 uttered at frequent intervals, presumably by the male, as an encour- 

 agement to his mate on the nest, or to the young. Grinnell and 

 Storer (1924) say that "the hoot of the adult bird is low, mellow, and 

 long-drawn-out, and bears a resemblance to the note of the band- 

 tailed pigeon." 



When much excited, both owls may fly about, snapping their bills 

 vigorously and uttering loud notes of protest in three syllables, 

 wuck-wuck'-wuck, or wek-wek'-wek, with a strong accent on the second 

 syllable. At such times, I have heard also a low, squealing whistle, 

 like the warning note of the ruffed grouse. During the highest pitch 

 of excitement and anxiety, the owl drops to the ground with shrill 

 cries of distress, loud piercing shrieks, flutters along the ground, as if 

 badly wounded, and pours out a series of catlike mewing notes, 

 mie-e-ew, or a more prolonged mie-ee-u-u-u-ew. 



Others have heard similar notes as well as several different ones. 

 Major Bendire (1892) says: "Except during the mating season it is 

 rather a silent bird, and the few notes which I have heard them utter, 

 when at ease and not molested, are low toned and rather pleasing than 

 otherwise. One of these is a soft toned 'wu-hunk, wu-hunk', slowly 

 and several times repeated, which really sounds much better than it 



