BIRDS OF 



rufifand lower parts, yellowish-white, throat white. Male, ii \r\ches: female, 

 12 inches. 



H.\B. Arctic .Vmerica, south occasionally in winter into the Northern 

 United States. 



Nest in trees. 



Eggs, 2 ; round, white. 



This comparatively small and timid-looking owl is perhaps 

 more hyperborean in its range than any of the others we have 

 had under consideration, inasmuch as the records of its occur- 

 rence do not extend so far south as those of either the Great 

 Gray or the Snowy Owl. It is warmly clad in a dense coat of 

 soft, silky feathers, which, no doubt, enables it to withstand the 

 severity of the winter. In the matter of food, it evidently finds 

 a supply, as the species is spoken of by Sir John Richardson as 

 being abundant in the region of the Saskatchewan, yet only a 

 very few come as far south as Southern Ontario. The two in 

 my collection were both found during winter in the neighbor- 

 hood of Toronto, besides which I have very few records of its 

 being observed anywhere throughout the country. 



153. NYCTALA ACADICA (Gmel.). 872. 



SaTV-w^het Owl. 



Size, small. Bill, black, the cere tumid, the circular nostrils presenting 

 anteriorly. Above chocolate-brown, spotted with white, the tail with 

 transverse white bars ; facial area and forehead variegated with white, the 

 face and superciliary line grayish-white ; the lower parts white with streaks 

 of the color of the back. Length, 7^-8 ; wing, 5^ ; tail, 3§. 



Hab. North .\merica at large, breeding from the Middle States 

 northward. 



Nest, in a hole in a tree. 



Eggs, 4 to 6 ; round, white. 



This is the smallest member of the family found east of the 

 Rocky Mountains. For some reason all the owls are of irregular 

 occurrence in the settled parts of the country. 1 have seen as 

 many as six or eight of this species in one winter, and again 

 for several years have not seen one. Without being migratory, 



156 



