232 



BURROWING OWL 



378. Speotyto cunicularia hypogoea. 10 in. 



Legs very long, and nearly bare on the lower part 

 of tarsi; tail short; no ear' tufts. An abundant and 

 useful species in the prairie regions west of the Mis- 

 sissippi. They live in the same region that prairie 

 dogs are found, using deserted burrows of these ani- 

 mals, or taking them by force, for they are more than 

 a match for these curious animals; they do not, as 

 has often been said, live peaceably in the same bur- 

 rows with them. On the contrary, young prairie dogs, 

 as well as rodents, small snakes and birds, form a large 

 part of their daily diet. They are both diurnal and 

 nocturnal, doing most of their hunting after dusk, but 

 often seen sitting at the mouth of the burrow during 

 the daytime. The six to ten eggs that they deposit at 

 the end of these burrows are white. 



Range. West of the Miss. Valley, north to South- 

 ern Manitoba and British Columbia. 378a. Florida Bur- 

 rowing Owl (floridana), is smaller and whiter; found 

 in southern Florida. 



