CHAPTER VIII. 



February 12 February 18. 



THE SCREECH OWL. 



Order Raptores Suborder Striges 



Family Bubonidae Genus Megascops 



Species Megascops asio 



Length 6.50 to 10.00; wing, 5.60 to 7.10; tail, 3.00 to 3.70. 

 Permanent Resident. 



"The night owl in the thicket wails 



In tones of melancholy, 

 As if bemoaning in its age 

 Its years of youthful folly." 



Chapman and Reed in their Color Key to North Ameri- 

 can Birds describe thirteen species of screech owls. Megas- 

 cops asio is the only one of these that is found in the Middle 

 West. The plumage of this owl is dichromatic, that is, it has 

 two distinct variations of color, the red or rufous and the gray. 

 This peculiarity does not depend upon sex, age, season or con- 

 dition. Young birds with both phases of color are often found 

 in the same nest, and sometimes the male is of one 'color and 

 the female of the other, and vice versa. Those with the red 

 phase are rufous above and streaked with shaft lines of black. 

 The scapular feathers show considerable white ; there is also 

 more or less white in some individuals above the eyes. Un- 

 derneath the color is white overlaid with rufous, generally in 

 bars. Those of the gray phase have a brownish gray appear- 

 ance above, with markings of black and white almost identical 

 with those of the red phase. Underneath they are gray and 



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