344 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



in the field in question, I should think this locality had been fixed on as a wintering 

 point. There are no trees in the field, and in the daytime the birds rest on the 

 ground. They hunt for food morning and evening, and sometimes on dark days. 

 Throughout this and adjoining townships these owls have been more or less common, 

 and many have been brought in by gunners. In previous years I have looked on this 

 species as rather rare, and some seasons have passed without my meeting with them. 

 Since writing the above, two other points, at which vast numbers of these birds have 

 congregated, have come to my knowledge, and in each case the conditions of locality 

 are identical with those above described." 



The genus Nyctale includes, probably, but two species, viz., Tengmalm's owl, N~. 

 tengmalmi, of Europe (Fig. 152), with its American race, called Richardson's owl, and 

 the Acadian or saw-whet owl, JV. acadica, which is peculiar to North America. The 

 genus is marked by its untufted head, heavily feathered feet and toes, and small size. 

 The skull also is extremely asymmetrical, and especially the ears. 



Richardson's owl is one of the rarest species occurring within the limits of the 

 United States, being only seen there in winter, and very few specimens being taken 

 then. Further north it is more common, but its habits, especially in the breeding 

 season, are little known. Dr. C. H. Merriam gives the following note on it, as observed 

 by Mr. Comeau, at Godbout, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, at its 

 junction with the Gulf. "A common winter resident and very tame. This owl has 

 a low, liquid note that resembles the sound produced by water slowly dropping from 

 a height ; hence the Montagne Indians call it pillip-pile-tshish, which means ' water- 

 dripping bird.' These Indians have a legend that this was at one time the largest owl 

 in the world, and that it had a very loud voice. It one day perched itself near a large 

 waterfall and tried not only to imitate the sound of the fall, but also to drown the 

 roaring of the torrent in its own voice. At this the Great Spirit was offended, and 

 transformed it into a pigmy, causing its voice to resemble slowly dripping water instead 

 of the mighty roar of a cataract." 



It is a little larger than the mottled owl, and, besides lacking the plumicorns, it is 

 at once distinguished by its chocolate-brown color above, spotted with white, and the 

 white under parts striped lengthwise with brown. 



The Acadian owl, Nyctale acadica, is little more than half the size of Richardson's 

 owl, which it resembles considerably in color. It seems to be less northerly in its 

 distribution, and, although nowhere very abundant, it is pretty generally distributed 

 over the United States, and extends southward into Mexico. The young, in its first 

 plumage after the down, is a very different looking bird from the adult, being pretty 

 uniform olive-brown all over, but paler on the lower breast and belly, the wings and 

 tail with indications of white bars, and the eyebrows pure white, in strong contrast to 

 the surrounding dark color. Fi'om this last-named mark it took its name of white- 

 fronted owl, and was for years believed to be a genuine species, distinct from acadica, 

 and passing under the name of albifrons. Specimens of this kind, however, when 

 kept in confinement, speedily moulted into the full plumage of acadica, and thus 

 settled the question which had already been raised as to their specific identity. The 

 name ' saw- whet ' is derived from the supposed resemblance of some notes of the bird to 

 the sounds produced in filing a saw, but it seems probable that, in order to appreciate 

 the strong resemblance, the listener's imagination needs to be whetted at the same time. 



This species is supposed to nest invariably in holes of trees, but it is not impossible 

 that it may sometimes use the deserted nest of some other bird, or even itself build a 



