lanbom lote^ on ilatural liatortj 



Vol. 1. 



PROVIDENCE, JULY, 1884. 



Entered at the Providence Posi-Offiee as Second-Class Matter. 



No. VII. 



!|,mtbom ^otus on f atiiral f istori|. 



A Monthly Devoted to the Distribution of Use- 

 ful, Knowledge Concerning the Various De- 

 partments of Zoology, Mineralogy, and 

 Botany. 50 Cents a Yeah. 

 Address all communications to 



SOUTHWICK & JENCKS, 

 258 Westminster St., Providence, R. I., U.S.A. 



SPECIAL NOTICE. 



Slpscriptions hereafter will begin with 

 the current number, or the March number if 

 desired. 



Great Gray Owl. Spectral Owl. 



Stkix cinkra. 



Late in the winter of 1882 and '83 some 

 persons shooting on Fox Island, near Wick- 

 ford, killed a large ashen-colored owl, and 

 sent it to Providence to be stuffed In- an 

 amateur. 



Mr. G. M. Gray chanced to see it be- 

 fore work was commenced, and noting its 

 peculiarities, made a liberal cash offer for 

 it. The fact that two persons had fired at 

 it, and both claimed the killing, made them 

 w-illing to sell, and he secured the prize. 

 It was the Great Graj' Owl, and is the only 

 reported capture for Rhode Island. A 

 specimen in the collection at Brown Uni- 

 versity is said to have been taken in 8ee- 

 konk, Mass., some twenty ^ears ago. 



This owl resembled very closely the com- 

 mon Barred Owl, S. aebulosa, but meas- 

 ured about four inches longer, and had a 

 much greater e.Ktent of wing. The general 

 appearance of great size is caused es- 

 pecially by the extreme length of the soft 

 feathers, for the body after skinning was 

 scarcely larger than that of the average 

 Barred Owl. A prominent distinguishing 

 mark is the yellow or straw-colored iris. 

 The Barred Owl has a very dark hazel, but 

 after death and when the pupil is dilated, 

 the appearance is blue-black, or black. 



For further description of the Great Gray 

 we quote from Dr. Cones' new work : '• Feet 



completely feathered to the claws, bill 

 yellow ; six primaries cut on inner web ; 

 entire upper parts dark biown, mottled 

 with grayish white in confused and intricate 

 pattern ; wings and tail similar, broken- 

 barred with grayish-white marbling ; under- 

 parts of the same dark brown and pale gray, 

 the pattern in streaks on the breast, in 

 cross-bars on the belly and flanks, in spots 

 on the feet ; the great facial disc watered 

 with dark brown and light gray in regular 

 rings, concentric with each eye, the out- 

 most ring dark brown and stronger than the 

 rest, bounded below with a ragged white 

 collar. 



" An immense owl. one of the largest of 

 all, inhabiting Arctic America, straying 

 irregularly south into the United States in 

 winter, even to New Jersey, Illinois, and 

 California ; said to be common from our 

 northern border northward, and perhaps 

 resident in northern New England. Nest 

 in trees, of sticks, moss, and feathers ; 

 eggs usually three or four, not equal-ended, 

 and rather small for the bird, 2.25x1.80. 



" Like others of the genus it is a wood 

 owl ; while its prowess enables it to prey 

 upon creatures up to the size of grouse and 

 hares." 



/ Dr. Coues states that the Great Horned 

 Owl, Bubo Virginiaiius, often appropriates 

 the nest of some large hawk, such as the 

 Red Shouldered. We have just learned of 

 three boys who made a raid upon a Fish 

 Hawk's nest for eggs. Tlie nest was extra 

 large and the climbing a test of endurance. 

 The contents of the nest proved to be two 

 young Great Horned Owls, in the down. 

 They were finally dislodged and are now 

 thriving well in captivity. 



' A GENTLEMAN being ou Bostou Common / 

 June 16, about noon, noticed a Robin, 

 {Tnrdus iiiujratorius) , Hy down several 

 times fairly into the pond, paddle about 

 and thoroughly wet himself. The sun was 

 shining and the heat quite excessive, and 

 the bird seemed to thoroughly enjoy h\s 

 plunge bath in deep water. 



