OWLS. 343 



developed, and extends equally above and below the eye, so that this organ is really 

 situated in its centre. The external conch of the ear is very large, and provided with 

 an ample operculum or flap, by which it can be completely closed at pleasure. 

 Most of the species are strictly nocturnal. 



The first genus, Asio or Otus, contains but very few species, among which we may 

 mention first the long-eared owl, Asio otits (Otus vulgaris), common to nearly all the 

 countries of the northern hemisphere, but only found in woods, where it usually 

 remains quiet by day, hunting entirely at night. The plumicorns are very long in 

 this species, and are habitually carried erect. It is a plentiful bird in the United 

 States, and, though most abundant during the migrations, is probably sparingly resi- 

 dent in most wooded regions, and breeds. It usually selects for this purpose the old 

 nest of a crow or hawk, but probably sometimes builds for itself. Dr. Brewer, in 

 describing its breeding habits as observed by Dr. Cooper near San Diego, California, 

 says : " On the 27th of March he found a nest probably that of a crow built in a 

 low evergreen oak, in which a female owl was sitting on five eggs then partly hatched. 

 The bird was quite bold, flew round him, snapping her bill at him, and tried to draw 

 him away from the nest, the female imitating the cries of wounded birds with remark- 

 able accuracy, showing a power of voice not supposed to exist in owls, but more in the 

 manner of a parrot." The European and American birds differ slightly, the latter 

 being, as* usual, rather darker. Another peculiar species, Asio stygius, is found in 

 South America. 



The short-eared owl, Asio accipitrinus ( Otus brachyotns), is closely related to the 

 preceding, but differs widely in appearance, the plumicorns being very short, and 

 often hardly appreciable. This species probably has the widest range of any known 

 owl, being found all over Europe, Asia, and a large part of Africa, and in both North 

 and South America as well as in the Falkland and Hawaiian islands ; and, contrary to 

 the usual rule among owls, it differs but very slightly in size or coloration in different 

 parts of its range. 



It is one of the few species exclusively inhabiting open country, preferring mead- 

 ows or uplands covered with rank grass, and in such situations its nest is usually built. 

 This is commonly but a shallow cavity scratched in the ground, and lined or sur- 

 rounded with a few leaves or grass stems, and contains from four to seven eggs. 

 "While this is probably its ordinary mode of nesting, Mr. Dall found it breeding in 

 burrows in the sides of steep banks on the island of Unalashka, the nest placed at the 

 end of the burrow, and from one to two feet from the entrance. This bird ranges far 

 into the Arctic regions, and its migrations are performed with considerable regularity. 



In winter, wherever it is found, it seems somewhat gregarious, and usiially several 

 individuals will be found resting near each other in the grass during the day. Some- 

 times they appear in unusual numbers, an instance of this kind having been observed 

 by Mr. W. E. D. Scott, near Princeton, N. J., in the autumn of 1878. .He says: "I 

 am informed by most credible witnesses that late in October, or about November 1, 

 there appeared in a field of about forty acres, which was covered with a heavy growth 

 of long, dead grass, vast numbers of owls. A visit to the field in question, which is 

 directly adjacent to the railroad depot at Harlingen, and a talk with farmers living 

 close by, gave me the following additional data : The birds were exclusively the short- 

 eared owl (Brachyotus palustris), as I learned from an examination of specimens in 

 the possession of several farmers. Their number was variously estimated at from a 

 hundred and fifty to two hundred. Many were shot, and, as some are still to be found 



