HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 



821 



THE MOTTLED OWL. 



burrows of the Prairie Marmot. This bird is thus 

 described by L. Bonaparte. 



" In the trans-Mississippian territories of the United 

 States the Burrowing Owl resides exclusively in the 

 villages of the marmot or prairie dog, whose excava- 

 tions are so commodious as to render it unnecessary 

 that our bird should dig for himself, as he is said to 

 do in other parts of the world where no burrowing 

 animals exist. These villages are very numerous, 

 and variable in their extent, sometimes covering only 

 a few acres, and at others spreading over the surface 

 of the country for miles together. They are com- 

 posed of slightly elevated mounds, having the form 

 of a truncated cone, about two feet in width at base, 

 and seldom rising as high as eighteen inches above 

 the surface of the soil. The entrance is placed either 



