I06 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



brown and grayish-white, the legs with narrower, more 

 irregular bars ; " eyebrows," lores and chin, grayish- 

 white, with a dusky space immediately in front of eye; 

 face, grayish-white with distinct concentric semicir- 

 cular bars of dusky-brown ; facial circle, dark brown 

 passing into white on foreneck, where interrupted by a 

 spot of brownish-black on throat; bill, light dull yclloia; 

 iris, Icinon-yctlow. Downv Young: Buffy-white, the 

 down on the hindneck, back, shoulders, and wings, 

 dark sooty-brown basally, the tips pale dull buff or pale 

 brownish-buffy. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: In conifers, usually at a 



good height; constructed of sticks, twigs, and moss and 

 warmly lined with feathers. Eggs : 2 to 4, white and 

 small for size of the bird. 



Distribution. — Northern North America ; breeding 

 from tree limit in Alaska and northwestern Mackenzie 

 southward to northern British Columbia, central 

 Alberta, northwestern Idaho, northern Manitoba, and 

 northern Ontario ; in winter migrating southward to 

 Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 

 northern Ohio, northern Illinois, Minnesota, North 

 Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Oregon, and northern 

 California. 



The Great Gray Owl has received from the 

 scientists a name with a very appropriate and 

 poetical interpretation ; scotiaptex is from two 

 Greek words which mean " the Eagle-Owl of 

 darkness " ; nehulosa is Latin and means 

 " cloudy " or " gray." 



This big and powerful Owl is forced to do 

 much of its hunting in daylight for the very good 

 reason that in a large area of its natural range 

 there is no true night. Occasionally it strays 

 into the United States. Elon H. Eaton states 

 that " in the Adirondacks [N. Y.] it is probably 

 more common as a winter visitor than is sup- 

 posed, but throughout the remainder of the State 

 is only of rare and irregular occurrence." Its 

 decided preference, however, is evidently for the 

 thick forest of the northland, " in which," Dr. 

 Fisher says, " it dwells doubtless to the very 

 limit of the trees." 



According to Dr. William Healey Dall it is a 

 stupid bird and may sometimes be caught in the 

 hands. Its diet consists chiefly of small mam- 

 mals (hares, meadow mice, and squirrels) and 

 Ptarmigan and smaller birds. Its cry resembles 

 that of the Screech Owl. 



The Great Gray Owl exceeds the Great 

 Horned Owl in measurements, but its weight is 

 seldom more than that of the Barred Owl. Its 

 plumage is unusually thick and fluffy and makes 

 the bird appear a great deal heavier than it 

 really is. 



The Lapp Owl {Scotiaptex iicbiilosa lap- 

 ponica) is an Old World variant of the Great 

 Gray Owl which occasionally strays into Alaska. 

 It is lighter colored than the Great Gray. It is 

 considered very rare even within its natural 

 range in the upper portions of forest belt of the 

 Arctic regions of Europe and Asia. 



RICHARDSON'S OWL 



Cryptoglaux funerea richardsoni (Bonaparte) 



A. O. U. Number 371 See Color Plate 55 



Other Names. — American Sparrow Owl ; Sparrow 

 Owl ; Arctic Saw-whet Owl. 



General Description. — Length, 11 inches; spread of 

 wings, 24 inches. Color above, brown, spotted with 

 white; below, white, spotted with dark. 



Color. — Adults: General color of upper parts, deep 

 brown ; crown, thickly spotted with white, the spots of 

 roundish form ; hindneck with very large, partly con- 

 cealed, irregularly heart-shaped or variously formed 

 spots of white; shoulders with large, partly concealed 

 spots of white, the exterior ones with outer webs 

 mostly white, margined terminally with brown ; wing- 

 coverts near edge of wing and some of the greater 

 coverts with large roundish spots of white; rear half 

 of secondaries crossed by two rows of small white 



spots (on edge of outer web) ; outer webs of primaries 

 with roundish white spots, these growin.g smaller on 

 innermost quills ; tail crossed by four or five transverse 

 rows of white spots, these not touching shaft on either 

 web; face, including "eyebrows," grayish-white, the 

 portion immediately above upper eyelid and in front of 

 eye, dark sooty-brown or blackish, the sides of head 

 intermixed with dusky ; area above and behind ears 

 uniform dark brown, the latter dotted on rear portion 

 with white; sides of neck, mostly white, some of the 

 feathers tipped with brown ; chin, cheeks, and space 

 below ears, immaculate white; across middle of throat, 

 a broken band of mixed brown and white, the former 

 predominating; ground color of under parts, white, 

 slightly tinged, in places, with pale bufif, the breast 



