BIRDS. 75 



two rows of white spots, and tipped with white; whole interior 

 vanes of the wings, spotted with the same ; auriculars, yellowish 

 brown ; crown, upper part of the neck, and circle surrounding the 

 ears, beautifully marked with numerous points of white on an olive 

 brown ground; front, pure white, ending in long blackish hairs ; 

 at the internal angle of the eyes, a broad spot of black radiating 

 outwards ; irides, pale yellow ; bill, a blackish horn color ; lower 

 parts, streaked'with yellow ochre and reddish bay ; thighs, and fea- 

 thered legs, pale buff; toes, covered to the claws, which are black, 

 large, and sharp-pointed. 



RED OWL. This is another of our nocturnal wanderers, well 

 known by its common name, the little screech owl j and noted for 

 its melancholy quivering kind of wailing in the evenings, particu- 

 larly towards the latter part of summer and autumn, near the farm- 

 house. On clear moonlight nights, they answer each other from 

 various parts of the fields or orchards; roost during the day in 

 thick evergreens, such as cedar, pine, or juniper trees, and are 

 rarely seen abroad in sunshine. In May, they construct their nest 

 in the hollow of a tree, often in the orchard in an old apple tree ; 

 the nest is composed of some hay and a few feathers ; the eggs 

 are four, pure white, and nearly round. The young are at first 

 covered with a whitish down. 



This species is found generally over the United States, and is 

 not migratory. 



The red owl is eight inches and a half long, and twenty-one in- 

 ches in extent ; general color of the plumage above, a bright nut 

 brown, or tawny red ; the shafts, black ; exterior edges of the 

 outer row of scapulars, white ; bastard wing, the five first primaries, 

 and three or four of the first greater coverts, all spotted with white ; 

 whole wing-quills, spotted with dusky on their exterior webs ; tail, 

 rounded, transversely barred with dusky and pale brown ; chin, 

 breast, and sides, bright reddish brown, streaked laterally with 

 black, intermixed with white ; belly and vent, white, spotted with 

 bright brown ; legs, covered to the claws with pale brown hairy 

 down ; extremities of the toes and claws, pale bluish, ending in 

 black ; bill, a pale bluish horn color ; eyes, vivid yellow ; inner 

 angles of the eyes, eyebrows, and space surrounding the bill, 

 whitish ; rest of the face, nut brown ; head, horned or eared, each 

 horn consisting of nine or ten feathers of a tawny red, shafted with 

 black. 



GREAT HORNED OWL. This noted and formidable owl is found 



