64 



NATURAL HISTORY OF VERMONT. 



Part I. 



THE SCRKECH OWL. 



THK HAWK OWL. 



THE SNOWY OWL. 



and admits so many rays of liglit itiat ihey are 

 dazzled, and unable to see by the full liglit of day, 

 but by faint iwiliylit and by moonlight they appear 

 to see clearly. Several of the species are furnish- 

 ed with ear-lilce tufis, and are called horned owls. 



THE SCREECH OWL. 



Striz asio. — Linn. 



Buho a^ift.— Aud. Birds Am. 1—147, pi. 40. 



Description. — Upper parts pale brown, 

 spotted and dotted with brownish black ; 

 a pale gray line from the base of the up- 

 per mandible over each eye ; qnills light 

 brownish gray, barred with brownish 

 black; their coverts dark brown ; secon- 

 dary covertswith the lips white; throat yel- 

 lowish gray, lower parts light gray, patch- 

 ed and sprinkled with brownish black ; 

 tail feathers tinged with red. Young, 

 with upper parts light brownish red ; each 

 feather with a central blackish brown 

 line ; tail and quills barred with dull 

 blown; aline over the eye and the tips 

 of the secondary coverts reddish white; 

 breast and sides light yellowish gray, spot- 

 ted and lined with brownish black and 

 bright reddish brown ; the rest of the low- 

 er parts yellowish gray ; the tarsal featli- 

 ers pale yellowish red. Length 10 inch- 

 es; spread 23. — Aud. 



History. — This little owl is found in 

 nearly all parts of the United States, but 

 is much more common in northern than 

 in southern sections. The Screech Owl 

 is by no means rare in Vermont, and ma- 

 ny a Green Mountain lad, as he has been 

 passing through a wood in a dark night 

 has felt his hair rise, his heart leap, 

 and himself flying as upon wings of the 

 wind, at the terrific scream of this bird, 

 perched in a tree just over his head. Al- 

 thou<rh more common in the fall and fore 

 part of winter, man}' of them spend the 

 summer and rear their young in this 

 state. Their nest, which is made of grass 

 and feathers, is placed at the bottom of a 

 hollow tree or stub, often not more than 

 6 or 8 feet from the ground. The eggs 

 are white, of a globular form, and usually 

 4 or 5 in number. Only one brood is 

 raised in a season. Tlie young become 



fully feathered in August, when they ap- 

 ])ear as described above. This owl is of- 

 ten designated as the Little Screech Owl, 

 and is also called the Mottled Owl. 



THE HAWK OWL. 



Striz funerea. — Gmelin. 



Surnia funerca — Aud. Am. Birds, I — 112, pi. S7. 



Description. — Tail long, much round- 

 ed, the lateral feathers two inches shorter 

 than the middle. Upper part of the 

 head brownish-black, closely spotted with 

 white ; hind neck black, with two broad 

 longitudinal bands of white spots ; the 

 rest of the upper part dark brown, spotted 

 with white ; tail with eight transverse 

 bars of white, the feathers tipped with the 

 same ; facial disks grayish white, mar- 

 gined with black ; lower parts transverse- 

 ly barred with brown and dull white. — 

 ^ud. Bill yellow; feet thickly feather- 

 ed ; nails horn-color. — JVutt. Length of 

 the male 16 inches ; spread of the wings 

 32 ; female larger. 



History. — This species forms the con- 

 necting link between the hawks and the 

 owls, having, in several respects, a con- 

 siderable resemblance to both, and hence 

 its name, Hawk-Owl. We are informed 

 by Dr. Richardson that this owl is com- 

 mon throughout the fur countries from 

 Hudson's bay to the Pacific ocean, and 

 that it is more frequently shot than any 

 other. It must, however, be a rare bird 

 in the United States, generally, since the 

 indefatigable Audubon confesses that he 

 has never seen it alive. But it is because 

 he has not visited the north part of our 

 own state that he has been denied this 

 pleasure ; for he is assured by no less au- 

 thority than Dr. Thomas M. Brewer, of 

 Boston, that the Hawk-Owl is so common 

 about Memphremagog lake in Vermont, 

 that a dozen of them may be procured by a 

 good gunner in a day, and that their nests, 

 whiclfare in hollow trees, are frequently 

 met with. Its eggs, according to Rich- 

 ardson, are white, and usually two in 

 number. 



THE SNOWY OWL. 



Striz nijctea. — LinNjEus. 

 Surnia nyr.Lea. — Aud. Am. Birds, 1—113, pi. 98. 

 Description. — General color white, 

 more or less spotted and barred with 

 brown ; the tail rounded and extending a 

 little beyond the folded wings; the sec- 

 ond and fourth quills equal, the third lon- 

 gest ; bill bluish black, curved from the 

 base ; ujjper mandible thickly studded 

 with stiff, bristly white feathers; throat 

 and legs covered with soft, pure white 



