HORNED OWLS, ETC. 177 



rodents and seldom touches insectivorous birds.' As it is easily 

 destroyed, he says it is the owl that suffers most when short-sighted 

 legislators enact laws for the destruction of birds of prey. 



367. Asio accipitrinus (Pall.). SHORT-EARED OWL. 



Adults. Ear tufts inconspicuous ; eyes with black ring and white eye- 

 brows ; body varying from yellowish brown 

 to buffy white, conspicuously streaked with 

 dark brown ; wings and tail irregularly 

 banded with dark brown and buffy or yel- 

 lowish brown. Young : face brownish 

 black, under parts plain dull buffy, tinged 

 with gray in front ; upper parts dark 

 brown, the feathers tipped with yellowish 

 brown. Length: 13.80-16.75, wing 11.80- 

 13.00, tail 5.80-6.10, bill .60-.65. 



Distribution. Entire western hemi- 

 sphere except Galapagos Islands and part 

 of the West Indies ; also nearly throughout 

 the eastern hemisphere, excepting Austra- 

 lia. Breeds in the United States irregu- 

 larly and locally from about latitude 39 T 



/, , J From Biological Survey, U. S. Dept. 



northward. 6 of Agriculture. 



Nest. Of coarse grass and sticks, loosely Fig. 244. 



put together, and sparsely lined with fine 

 material and feathers of the bird. Eggs : 4 to 7, white. 



Food. Largely mice ; also gophers, shrews, rabbits, grasshoppers, 

 crickets, and beetles. 



The habits of the short-eared owl are quite unique. While most 

 owls live in trees and woods this bird rarely lights in a tree, making 

 its home in the open country, coast marshes, and islands covered 

 with bushes and high grass. It hides in the grass on bright days, 

 but in cloudy weather often hunts in the morning and evening or 

 even the middle of the day, flying low over the ground in its search 

 for gophers, mice, and grasshoppers, when its long wings make it 

 seem very large. On the salt marshes of Gray's Harbor, where Mr. 

 Lawrence found the owls flying about commonly in misty weather, 

 he says they looked ' as big as eagles.' There, he says, they sat 

 on the edges of the sloughs watching for rats. When flying high, 

 sporting, or chasing some large bird, he heard them give a shrill 

 barking call like the Td-yi of a small dog. 



GENUS SYRNIUM. 



General Characters. Wing 12-15, rounded ; no ear tufts ; ear opening 

 large and with a distinct anterior flap, the two ears conspicuously differ- 

 ent ; tip of toe exposed. 



KEY TO SPECIES. 



1. Head and neck barred. 



2. Upper parts dark brown nebulosum, p. 178. 



9'. Upper parts pale yellowish brown .... helveolum, p. 178. 



