OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA. 185 



extending northward to the shores of Hudson's Bay. Rich- 

 ardson found it abundant within the wooded borders of the 

 plains of the Saskatchewan, and met with it as far north as 

 the 1 6th parallel of latitude. On the banks of the Columbia 

 east of the Dalles, in a desolate and dreary region, this 

 species with several others, was obtained by Mr. Cooper. In 

 the canons west of the Aztec Mountains, Dr. Kennedy has 

 found this Owl breeding among precipitous cliffs, in common 

 with Hawks and Crows. From Nova Scotia to Florida it 

 occurs in greater or less abundance. In the vicinity of' 

 Halifax, and about Calais, it is rather uncommon ; but in the 

 western parts of Maine and the residue of New England, it 

 is quite plentiful. In various parts of California, among 

 the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico, and in the valley of 

 the Rio Grande, it has been captured. 



In Eastern Pennsylvania it is by far the most abundant 

 of all our Owls. It is more retiring in its nature than Nyc- 

 tale acadica. The latter prefers an orchard in close prox- 

 imity to the dwelling of man, while the former evinces a 

 decided partiality for dense forests of evergreens far from 

 the hum and stir of farm-life. In the vicinity of German- 

 town once existed within our recollection an extensive pine 

 forest which was the favorite place of rendezvous of this 

 Owl during the dreary winter months, and where in the 

 spring-time the females deposited their eggs in rude ami 

 unsightly structures of their own manufacture. The numbers 

 that thronged this thicket were prodigious, so that but few 

 trees could be found which had not supported one or more 

 nests. The fragmentary bones of quadrupeds and birds that 

 lay in heaps upon the ground, amply attested the wholesale 

 destruction of life that had been carried on. Within the 

 past two years, many of the trees have yielded to the wood- 

 man's axe, and the birds have mostly scattered to more con- 

 genial quarters, few remaining of all the mighty host. 



The flight of this Owl is noiseless and gliding, generally 

 low, and but moderately protracted. Its general movements 

 24 



