A. O. V. jVo. 367, 



A M ERICA N ORNI THOL O G Y. 

 SHORT-EARED OWL. 



RANGE. 



171 



{Ajio accipiirinus.) 



About equally distributed throughout North America, not being especi- 

 ally abundant in any part of its range. It breeds throughout Canada 

 and the northern part of the U. S. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Length, about 15 in.; extent, 40 in.; tail, 6 in. Eye, bright yellow. 

 Bill and toes dark gray. Entire upper parts variegated with brown and 

 tawny yellow; the markings on the back and back of head taking the form 

 of streaks, while the wings and tail are barred. The under parts are buff 

 streaked with brown. The face is a dull white except for a black ring 

 about each eye. The ear tufts are very small and hardly notice- 

 able. 



NEST AND EGGS. 



NEST OF SHORT-EARED OWL. 



These owls will nest 

 in any marshy locality. 

 Generally no nest is 

 built, although some- 

 times a bird will be 

 thrifty enough to wind a 

 few grasses around the 

 inside of the hollow in 

 the ground and may go 

 so far as to line it with a 

 few feathers. In their 

 breeding range in the U. 

 S. they lay their eggs 

 about the last week in 

 April; in the more north- 

 ern sections of the coun- 

 try they lay later. The 

 eggs number from four 

 to seven, and are white 



and only slightly granulated. 



HABITS. 



This trim, intelligent looking owl has a much wider distribution than 

 most birds can claim. He has brothers and sisters in practically every 



