BURROWING-OWL 37 
tions; and if made to fly goes only fifteen or twenty 
yards away, and alights again with face towards the 
intruder; and no sooner does it alight than it repeats 
the odd gesture and scream, standing stiff and erect, 
and appearing beyond measure astonished at the 
intrusion, By day it flies near the surface with wings 
continuously flapping, and invariably before alighting 
glides upwards for some distance and comes down 
very abruptly. It frequently runs rapidly on the 
ground, and is incapable of sustaining flight long. 
Gaucho boys pursue these birds for sport on horse- 
back, taking them after a chase of fifteen or twenty 
minutes. As a boy I have myself taken many. They 
live in pairs all the year, and sit by day at the mouth 
of their burrow or on the Vizcacha’s mound, the 
two birds so close together as to be almost touching ; 
when alarmed they both fly away, but sometimes 
the male only, the female diving into the burrow. 
On the pampas it may be more from necessity than 
choice that they always sit on the ground, as they 
are usually seen perched on the summits of bushes 
where such abound, as in Patagonia. 
These are the commonest traits of the Burrowing- 
Owl in the settled districts, where it is excessively 
numerous and has become familiar with man; but 
in the regions hunted over by the Indians it is a 
scarce bird and has different habits. Shy of approach 
as a persecuted game-fowl, it rises to a considerable 
height in the air when the approaching traveller is 
yet far off, and flies often beyond sight before descend- 
ing again to the earth. This wildness of disposition 
