OWLS. 221 



tracted. It is capable of rapid flight, and, according to Audubon, is 

 able to capture Ducks, Pigeons, and even Grouse on the wing, striking 

 them down after the manner of the Duck Hawk. 



'• Of 38 stomachs examined, 2 contained game birds ; 9, other 

 birds ; 18, mice ; 2, other mammals ; and 12 were empty " (Fisher). 



377. Surnia ulula caparoch {Mull.). American Hawk Owl. 



Ad. — Size medium ; no ear-tufts ; upper parts dark grayish brown or fuscous ; 

 head and liind neck spotted with white ; back, and especially tertials, barred 

 with white ; tail with broken whitish bars, long and rounded.^ the outer 

 feathers more than an inch shorter than the middle ones; middle of the 

 throat with a fuscous spot and below it a white one; sides of the neck and 

 upper breast streaked with fuscous, rest of the under parts barred with fuscous 

 and white ; legs and feet fully feathered. L., 15-00; W., 8-75; T., V"25. 



Range. — Breeds from Newfoundland northward, and occasionally wanders 

 southward in winter as far as Pennsylvania. 



Kest., in coniferous trees or in the holes of dead trees or stubs. Eggs., three 

 to seven, 1-50 x 1-23. 



" The Hawk Owl is strictly diurnal, as much so as any of the 

 Hawks, and like some of them often selects a tall stub or dead-topped 

 tree in a comparatively open place for a perch, where it sits in the 

 bright sunlight watching for its prey. 



" Although the flight is swift and hawklike, it has nevertheless 

 the soft, noiseless character common to the other Owls ; when starting 

 from any high place, such as the top of a tree, it usually pitches down 

 nearly to the ground, and flies ofl: rapidly above the tops of the bushes 

 or high grass, abruptly arising again as it seeks another perch. 



"The note is a shrill cry, which is uttered generally while the bird 

 is on the wing " (Fisher). 



378a. Speotyto cunicularia fioridana Rldgw. Florida Bur- 

 rowing Owl. jid. — Size small; no ear-tufts; legs and feet nearly naked,' 

 upper parts grayish brown, spotted and barred with white ; throat white, rest 

 of the under parts barred Avith grayish brown and white in about equal 

 amounts. L., 9-00; W., 0-50; T., 3-00; Tar., 1-75. 



Range. — Southern Florida, chiefly in the Kissimmee "prairie" region of 

 Osceola, Polk, and De Soto Counties, and also Manatee County. 



Nest^ in a hole in the ground excavated by the bird. Eggs., five to seven, 

 1-23 X 1-03. 



This diurnal Owl is locally abundant in its restricted range. Ex- 

 cellent accounts of its habits will be found under the following refer- 

 ences: Rhoads. Auk, ix. 1892, pp. 1-8; Scott, ibid., 21G-218; Bendire, 

 Life Histories North American Birds, pp. 400-402. 



The Burrowing Owl {S78. Speotyto cunicularia hypogtva^., well known 

 in our Western States, has been taken once in Massachusetts. 



