484 THE AMERICAN HAWK OWL. 
No. 196. 
AMERICAN HAWK OWL. 
A. O. U. No. 377.4. Surnia ulula caparoch (Miull.). 
Synonym.—Day Owt. 
Description.—Adult; Without ear-tufts; above dark grayish brown or fus- 
cous, finely and heavily spotted with white on head and upper back; with larger 
quadrate spots or bars of the same on middle back and wings; upper tail-coverts 
distinctly, and tail indistinctly or brokenly, barred with white; tail rounded, the 
outer pair of feathers about an inch shorter than the central pair; a crescentic 
patch behind the ear-coverts, another on the side of the neck behind, and one on 
the upper throat, pure dark brown; facial disk—so far as indicated—and chest, 
white; breast irregularly barred or streaked with fuscous on white ground, some- 
times almost solid fuscous; remaining underparts closely and evenly barred with 
reddish brown and white in about equal proportions; legs, fully feathered to the 
claws, tawny, spotted, or lightly barred with light reddish brown; bill yellow. 
Length 14.50-17.50 (368.3-444.5); wing 9.00 (228.6); tail 7.00 (177.8); bill 
85 (21.6). 
Recognition Marks.—Crow size; small head, slender build; strictly diurnal 
habits; general hawk-like appearance. 
Nesting.—Not known to breed in Washington. Nest: of sticks, mosses, and 
feathers, in coniferous trees, or in holes of decayed trees, or even on a rock or 
stump. Eggs: 3-7, white. Av. size, 1.53 x 1.24 (38.9 31.5). Season: April; 
one brood. 
General Range.—<Arctic America, breeding from Newfoundland northward, 
and migrating in winter to the northern borders of the United States. Occasional 
in England. May possibly breed in certain northern states. 
Range in Washington.—Very rare or casual in winter. Probably also resi- 
dent in summer (Edson, Johnson). 
Authorities.—Johnson, Condor, Vol. VIII, Jan. 1906, p. 26. E. 
Specimens.—(U. of W.) Prov. B. BN. 
THIS rare and singular winter visitor looks and acts like a hawk, 
and it is strictly diurnal in its habits; but it has, beside the facial disk, the 
noiseless plumage which marks the Owls. When seen southerly it is most 
frequently at look-out upon the top of a stub, but Mr. Bowles says of a pair 
cone of which he secured), near Martin in the Cascade Range: “On the 
wing they might easily be taken for one of the Buteos, as the flight consists 
of a series of slow wing-beats and a vast deal of circling on motionless wings.” 
Its proper home is north, altho there is just a suspicion that it may be 
found breeding in our own mountains. Mr. L. M. Turner says of it*: “The 
American Hawk Owl is a very common resident thruout the Yukon district. 
Along the Coast it is quite abundant. They usually seclude themselves in 
a. Contributions to the Natural History of Alaska, p. 165. 
