ANDERSON — TH?: BIRDS OF IOWA. 267 



seen and other seasons none are reported. It is a diurnal species 

 and is usnall}' found on the prairies. The appearance of the bird 

 varies greatly, according to the number of dusky bars on the 

 white plumage. A specimen in the Universit\- museum, taken at 

 Anrelia, Iowa, January i8, 1.SS5, is pure white, and one which I 

 mounted February 18, 1895, taken at Ruffalo Center, Iowa, was 

 pure white, with only four or five dark spots on the tip of each 

 wing and two or three on the head. A female taken December 

 10, i8g6, at Buffalo Center, was very dark, having sides, wings, 

 and tail barred heavily with dark brown. 



The Snowy Owl rarely appears in Iowa before December and 

 usually leaves in March. \\\ H. Ringaman reports one taken in 

 Kossuth county, April 18, igoo. Cooke (Bird Migr. in Miss. \'al., 

 1884-85, 123) says: "It .seems to have been less common than 

 usual in the winter of 1883-4, though Mr. Lindley, Mitchell, 

 Iowa, had the good fortune to see nine." D. H. Talbot notes the 

 occurrence of man}* Snowy Owls at vSioux City during F'ebruar}-, 

 1883 (Bull. Nuttall Orn. Club., viii, 4, 240). 



The Museum of Natural History of the Uni\-ersit}' of Iowa has 

 skins taken at Plover, Januar}- 24, 18S7; Hospers, March, 1S87; 

 Jolley, 18S5: Sheldon, Januar}- 25, 1887: Little Sioux (no date); 

 Sioux City, two, March 14, 1S87; March 15, 1887; April 16, 1887 

 (very dark plumage); Bradgate, December 17, 1884; Hawarden, 

 Januar}' 3, 1886; Sloan, December 17, 1S86; Alta, two specimens 

 (no date); Merrill, January 22, 1887; Forest City, March 19, 1901; 

 Johnson count}-, March 17, 1S90. 



Genus Si'RNI.a Dumeril. 

 170. (377). Suniia iihila caparoch (Miill.). American Hawk Owl. 



The American Hawk Owl can only be considered as an exceed- 

 ingly rare straggler in Iowa, in the winter time. It has been re- 

 ported rarely in .southern Minnesota by Roberts (Geol. and Nat. 

 Hist. Surv. of Minn., 1880, 471). and in Southern W^isconsin l)y 

 Kumlien and Hollister (Bds. of Wis., 1903, 72). 



George H. Berr\- reports the Hawk Owl as a rare winter visi- 

 tant in Linn county. He states that he has taken one specimen 

 in Iowa and also observed one specimen in December, 1903, near 

 Cedar Rapids, but did not secure it. 



