The Prairie Owl. 189 



The general colour is brownish grey, regularly marked with 

 whitish grey spots; the eyes are full and of a greenish yellow 

 colour. It does not appear to be nearly as nocturnal in its 

 habits as most of its congeners, but stands out boldly in the 

 daylight, seldom retiring to its ''dark chamber" unless frightened 

 by the approach of a stranger, when it bolts quickly into the 

 inner apartment of its cage, but soon returns to take up its 

 station upon its log, or perch, and amuses itself by staring 

 with alternately dilated and contracted pupils at the passers 

 by, spreading out its wings until the tips cover its feet, and 

 giving expression to its feelings by a series of squealing grunts, 

 that are not by any means harmonious. 



It is particularly fond of young birds, and will devour a 

 Pigeon squab of a few days' old in the day-time, whereas I 

 have not known it to touch anything else until the evening 

 was well set in, except it was very hungry indeed: it is ap- 

 parently fond of black beetles and large moths, which it eats 

 wings, wing-cases and all, rejecting the latter, as well as the 

 fur of mice, and the feathers and bones of small birds, in 

 little pellets of an oblong form, after the manner of other 

 Owls. 



Yes, the Coquimbo is a bird with a history, as I have 

 hinted, but it does not appear to be of a confiding temper, 

 at least so far it has made no advance towards familiarity 

 with any of us, which is, after all, perhaps not so very won- 

 derful, seeing that it no doubt looks upon us as its enemies 

 for having deprived it of liberty, and penned it in a narrow 

 cage. I have noticed that it drinks freely, but so far have 

 not seen it bathe, nor does it appear to scratch up the dry 

 earth that has been placed upon the floor of its enforced 

 domicile. 



As I observed a while back, it has a history, more or less 

 authentic, more or less tinged with a suspicion of romance. 

 Hear the Rev. J. G. Wood upon this head: ''The prairie dogs 

 (marmots) and Burrowing Owls live together very harmoniously ; 



