BURROWING-OWL 37 



tions ; and if made to fly goes only fifteen or twenty 

 yards away, and alights again with face towards the 

 intruder ; and no sooner does it alight than it repeats 

 the odd gesture and scream, standing stiff and erect, 

 and appearing beyond measure astonished at the 

 intrusion. By day it flies near the surface with wings 

 continuously flapping, and invariably before alighting 

 glides upwards for some distance and comes down 

 very abruptly. It frequently runs rapidly on the 

 ground, and is incapable of sustaining flight long. 

 Gaucho boys pursue these birds for sport on horse- 

 back, taking them after a chase of fifteen or twenty 

 minutes. As a boy I have myself taken many. They 

 live in pairs all the year, and sit by day at the mouth 

 of their burrow or on the Vizcacha's mound, the 

 two birds so close together as to be almost touching ; 

 when alarmed they both fly away, but sometimes 

 the male only, the female diving into the burrow. 

 On the pampas it may be more from necessity than 

 choice that they always sit on the ground, as they 

 are usually seen perched on the summits of bushes 

 where such abound, as in Patagonia. 



These are the commonest traits of the Burr owing- 

 Owl in the settled districts, where it is excessively 

 numerous and has become familiar with man ; but 

 in the regions hunted over by the Indians it is a 

 scarce bird and has different habits. Shy of approach 

 as a persecuted game-fowl, it rises to a considerable 

 height in the air when the approaching traveller is 

 yet far off, and flies often beyond sight before descend- 

 ing again to the earth. This wildness of disposition 



