In the Woods. 191 



the back and shoulders, that in a cedar grove, near Princeton, New Jersey, 

 in December, 1878, I caught ten of the birds alive. This was of course un- 

 usual, but almost every winter I meet with some of these little owls in similar 

 localities. Last winter, 1896 and 1897, I saw but four. 



This is a more boreal bird than the Saw-whet Owl. It is very similar to 

 that bird in general appearance, in color and markings, and the immature 

 Richardson's Owl birds have a first plumage closely corresponding to the 

 Nyctaia tengmaimi richard- young of the Saw-whet. But the birds are so much larger, 

 averaging ten inches and a half in length, as not to be con- 

 founded with their much smaller congener. The eyes are light yellow. 



But little is known in regard to their breeding habits but presumably they 

 are not unlike those of the Saw-whet. The eggs are larger but the same 

 color and shape. 



The birds are found throughout Northern North America and are the 

 prototypes and close relatives of a similar Owl, Tengmalm's, Nyctaia teng- 

 maimi, that inhabits the boreal parts of the Eastern Hemisphere. Richard- 

 son's Owl is found in winter as far south as the northern border of the United 

 States. 



The Great Gray Owl is the largest of the dark colored owls found in 

 our region. It is about twenty-seven or eight inches in length and without 

 " horns " or " ear tufts." The eyes and bill are yellow and 

 Great Gray Owl. t j le f eet heavily feathered to the tips of the toes. 



Scotiaptex cinerea (Gmel.). 



The general color is dusky with a fine mottling of 



white giving an effect of transverse barring. The darker color prevails above 

 and the lighter color below and on the very prominent facial discs, where the 

 barring takes the form of more or less defined concentric rings. 



The call notes of these birds are said to add to the solemn dignity of 

 the primeval woods of the northern solitudes. 



The birds breed in trees but we have no adequate description of their 

 nests. The eggs are two or three in number and white in color. They are 

 about two inches and an eighth long, and nearly an inch and three quarters 

 in width. They are found in the Hudson's Bay region and northward to the 

 tree limit during the breeding season, migrating nomadically to the northern 

 border of the United States during the colder portions of the year. 



