RICHARDSON'S OWL. 229 



It has been placed in Class h, as a friend of the farmer, but 

 fanners are so rare in the regions it frequents that they are not 

 likely to be much affected for good or ill. 



Genus NYCTALA Breiim. 

 NYCTALA TENGMALMI RICHARDSONI (Boxap.). 



162. Richardson's Owl. (371) 



Upper parts, grayish-bi'own, tinged with olive ; feathers of the head and 

 neck, spotted with white ; scapulars, quills and tail also with white spots ; 

 ruff and lower parts, yellowish-white ; throat, white. Male : — 11 inches. 

 Female .-—12 inches. 



Hab. — Ai'ctic America, south occasionally in winter into the northern 

 United States. 



Nest, in trees. 



Eggs, two to four, lound, white. 



This comparatively small and timid-looking owl is, pei'haps, more 

 hyperborean in its range than any of the others we have had under 

 consideration, inasmuch as the records of its occurrence do not extend 

 so far south as those of either the Great Gray or the Snowy Owl. It 

 is warmly clad in a dense coat of soft, silky feathers, which, no 

 doubt, enables it to withstand the severity of the winter. In the 

 seai'ch for food, it evidently finds a supply, for the species is spoken 

 of by Sir .John Richardson as being abundant in the region of the 

 Saskatchewan, but only a very few come as far south as Southern 

 Ontario. The two in my collection were both found during winter in 

 the neighborhood of Toronto, but besides these I have very few 

 records of its having been observed anywhere throughout the country. 



Proceeding farther north, this species is more frequently observed. 

 In Manitoba, it is reported as a tolerably common winter visitor. 

 In northern Alaska, it is found wherever trees or large bushes occur 

 to afford it shelter. The Eskimo have a name for it, unpronounceable 

 in our language, which means "the blind one," owing to its being 

 frequently caught alive by hand, on account of its defective sight in 

 the daylight. They are very gentle little birds, and are frequently 

 kept as pets by the Eskimo children. They are placed in Class h, 

 which entitles them to our hospitality whenever they elect to visit us. 



