182 ^^'E\V YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



tion to the thirteen forms mentioned above, there are more than 

 half a dozen kinds of Screech Owls known to inhabit Mexico, 

 none of which cross the southwest border of the United States. 



The habits of all are very similar to those of our eastern bird. 

 When wishing to conceal itself, a Screech Owl draws its feathers 

 close to its body, stands bolt upright, with eyes almost shut, and 

 in this posture its remarkable resemblance to a dead branch stub 

 is doubtless of great value to it. The illusion is heightened by 

 the conspicuous feather ears wiiich stick up like the splintered 

 ends of a broken off branch. 



GROUP \'ir. GREAT HORNED OWLS, Bltho. 



These are the largest and fiercest of the owls of the United 

 States, and are important, both as a conspicuous feature of our 

 Avifauna and in their economic relations to man. They are found 

 in almost all parts of the North American continent, and show 

 adaptive radiation in a most interesting way. Six different forms 

 are recognized, but these intergrade and the ranges overlap to such 

 an extent that no hard and fast lines can be drawn. 



Considering the Great Horned Owds as a whole, the eastern 

 form Bilbo virginianus (Gmel.), w^hich extends from Newfound- 

 land and Ontario southw-ard, is clothed with various shades of 

 ochraceous-buff and black. In the central west we find a form 

 much lighter than our eastern owl ; but then, passing northward 

 in the interior to the Hudson Bay territory — the land of snow 

 and snow-colored creatures — Bubo becomes whiter and whiter, 

 until, in the extreme type of the Arctic Horned Owl. we have a 

 bird with a plumage of a white ground-color, with a few restricted 

 dark markings above, and almost wholly white below ! 



As we approach the humid regions of the Pacific slope, we 

 enter the range of the typical Dusky Horned Owl, well named 

 saturatus, for the dampness of the atmosphere has permeated his 

 plumage, giving it a dark sooty brown tone, wholly without yel- 

 low or buff. 



Finally in the dry. arid waste of Lower California, lives the 

 extreme southern type, the small Dwarf Horned Owl. 



Our Horned Owl of the east, perched quietly in a tree, seems the 

 personification of gentleness and good nature. The sharp beak 

 and talon are buried in the fluffy feathers and the half-shut eyes 

 are softened. But as night approaches and the pangs of hunger 

 are felt, a transformation takes place in the bird. After sundry 

 stretches and yawns, his eyes open wide, shining with a fierce 



