THE HAWK OWL. 393 



"Both birds sit upon the eggs and are sometimes found on them in 

 company. While the female is upon her charge the male bird will perch close 

 at hand, ready to do battle with any intruder, not even excepting man 

 himself. Numerous instances are recorded of this bird's dauntless courage 

 when its nest is assailed. It strikes at the intruder again and again, seeming 

 not to care for its own safety, and but too often pays the price of its temerity 

 with its life." 1 



Ten eggs of this species in the U. S. National Museum collection from 

 Lapland and Finland give an average measurement of 39.5 by 31.5 millime- 

 tres. No specimen is figured, as the eggs are indistinguishable from those of 

 the American Hawk Owl. 



139. Surnia ulula caparoch (MULLER). 



AMERICAN HAWK OWL. 



Strix caparoch MULLER, Systema Naturae Supplement, 1776, 69. 

 Surnia ulula caparoch STEJNEGER, Auk, I, October, 1884, 363. 



(B 62, C 326, R 407, C 480, U 377.) 



GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Northern North America; south, in winter to northern 

 border of the United States; British Islands. ? 



The breeding range of the American Hawk Owl is principally confined 

 to the "fur country," the Hudson Bay territory, and the timbered districts of 

 Alaska. It is said to breed in the interior of Newfoundland, and thence north 

 and westward from latitude 48 N., through .Labrador, the northeast and 

 northwest territories of British North America to the end of the timber zone 

 in about latitude 68 N. 



According to Mr. Gr. A. Boardman, the American Hawk Owl is a rare 

 resident in the vicinity of Calais, Maine. The U. S. National Museum collection 

 contains a couple of eggs of this subspecies, obtained through Mr. Boardman, 

 which are said to have been collected on the shores of the Gulf of St. Law- 

 rence in the spring of 1861. This, if correct, is the most southern breeding 

 record of this species known to me. The nest from which these eggs were taken 

 was placed in the top of a thick fir tree. Dr. C. Hart Merriam also states: 2 "The 

 Hawk Owl unquestionably breeds in northern Idaho. August 11, 1872, I shot 

 one on Madison River, Montana, only a few miles from the Idaho boundary." 



The American Hawk Owl is diurnal in its habits, hunting its prey to a 

 great extent by daylight, generally early in the morning or in the evening, 

 being often seen at such times, and on that account considered more common 

 than other Owls inhabiting like regions, and at the same time easily obtained ; 

 its habits are fairly well known, and is sure to be noticed wherever it occurs. 

 Its food is said to consist principally of small rodents, insects, and an occasional 

 bird. 



'History of British Birds, Seebolim, 1883, Vol. I, pp. 184, 185. 

 9 North American Fauna, No. 5, 1891, p. 96. 



