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OTUS BRACHYOTOS— LINN. 



SHORT-EARED OWL. 



Short- eared Owl, Strix brachyotos, Wils. Amer. Orn. 

 Strix brachyotos, Bonap. Syn. 

 Short-^ared Owl, Strix brachyotos, Nutt. Man. 

 Short-eared Owl, Strix brachyotos, Aud. Orn. Biog. 



Specific Character — Tufts much shorter than the preceding; 

 plumage reddish buff, longitudinally streaked with dark brown ; 

 tail dark brown broadly barred and tipped with reddish buff Adult 

 with the upper parts dark brown, variegated with reddish buff; 

 tufts short ; eye surrounded with black ; lower parts buff, streaked 

 with dark brown ; lower tail coverts yellowish- white without spots ; 

 tail alternately barred with reddish-buff and dark brown; quills 

 reddish-buff, marked on both webs with dark brown, of which col- 

 or are the tips. Length fifteen inches, wing thirteen and a quarter. 

 Female about two inches longer. 



Dr. Richardson states that during summer this species is by no 

 means rare in the Fur countries, arriving as soon as the snow dis- 

 appears, and departing again in September. That it sometimes re- 

 mains in the United States throughout the year is quite evident from 

 the fact of Mr. Audubon having found its nest on one of the high 

 mountain ridges of the Great Pine Forest on the seventeenth day of 

 June. The nest was placed under a low bush and covered over 

 with tall grass. The eggs were four in number, of a dull white 

 color, and nearly hatched. On Long Island it is not common, and 

 seems to be only a winter visitant, and is usually observed on the 

 meadows and marshes. 

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