ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT. 187 
HAWK OWL. 
the Burrowing Owls have as their nearest relation, the genus 
Athene of Europe. 
What is considered as the typical form of Burrowing Owl, 
Speotyto cunicularia (Mol.), is widely spread over South 
America, although its terrestrial habits confine it to the open plains 
and pampas of that continent. Passing northward through Central 
America and Mexico, and over the wide western plains of our 
own country, the Burrowing Owl becomes smaller, and the brown 
areas on wings and tail increase until they predominate over the 
white. This is the Western Burrowing Owl, S. c. hypogaea 
(Bonap.), which has so often figured in pseudo-scientific tales as 
the third element in the “happy family” of rattlesnakes and prairie- 
dogs. There is of course no vestige of truth in the story. The 
prairie-dog is doubtless dispossessed by both bird and reptile, if 
not indeed devoured during the process. 
