232 



BURROWING OWL 



378. Speotyto cunicularia hypogcea. 10 in. 



Legs very long, and nearly bare on the lower part 

 of tarsi; tail short; no ear tufts. An abundant and 

 useful species in the prairie regions west of the Mis- 

 sissippi. They live in the same region that prairie 

 dogs are found, using deserted burrows of these ani- 

 mals, or taking them by force, for they are more than 

 a match for these curious animals; they do not, as 

 has often been said, live peaceably in the same bur- 

 rows with them. On the contrary, young prairie 

 dogs, as well as rodents, small snakes and birds, form 

 a large part of their daily diet. They are both diur- 

 nal and nocturnal, doing most of their hunting after 

 dusk, but often seen sitting at the mouth of the bur- 

 row during the daytime. The six to ten eggs that they 

 deposit at the end of these burrows are white. 



Range. West of the Miss. Valley, north to South- 

 ern Manitoba and British Columbia. 378a. Florida Bur- 

 rowing Owl (floridana), is smaller and whiter; found 

 in southern Florida. 



