RCREECH OWL— MOTTLED OWL— RED OWL. 103 



FalcoiiidcE and Strigidcc it is the immature or young individuals 

 which are most commonly met with in our collections. Conse- 

 quently we should expect to find more red — if this be the 

 young stage — than gray owls, and particularly so when we know 

 that the birds remain long enough in this plumage to become 

 parents. 



Being extremely anxious to arrive at something definite and 

 final on this subject, I this winter (1S76) wrote to naturalists, 

 collectors, and hunters in all parts of the Provinces of Quebec 

 and Ontario, requesting facts relating to the occurrence of this 

 species. The replies from these sources, however, only confirmed 

 still more the rarity of the " Red Owl," while they also evinced 

 that the species was anything but abundant in either of its forms. 

 Mr. Thos. Mcllwraith, writing from Hamilton, says, " The Screech 

 Owl is tolerably common with us, the young being frequently 

 taken during the early summer. A real good red bird is not often 

 met with, perhaps not once out of one hundred captures. I have, 

 however, heard from other persons living within one hundred 

 miles of this city that Avith them the red was the most common." 



In the neighborhood of Toronto a few red individuals have 

 been taken, and one of these obtained in 1857 is preserved in the 

 museum of the University College. One or two have also been 

 taken in the vicinity of Belleville. In the museum of the Nat. 

 Hist. .Soc. of Montreal there is one r<?fl^ specimen unlabelled, pro- 

 bably taken on the island or near the city. In the neighborhood 

 of Quebec I can find no records of the occurrence of either red or 

 gray, and Mr. Wm. Couper, who resided and collected in this city 

 for a number of years, tells me he never met with one or had one 

 brought to him. From Halifax, N.S., Mr. Bernard Gilpin writes 

 me, " Neither Mr. Downs or myself have met with this species (in 

 either plumage) here, though Reeks says it is common in New- 

 foundland, and I know common in the New England States." 

 Turning to Reeks" " Notes on the Birds of Newfoundland," we 

 find the Mottled Owl described as a summer migrant and " tol- 

 erably common." He further remarks : " As this is one of the 



