22 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Jan. 



For the Neic England Farmer. 



THE BIRDS OP NEW ENGLAND — No. 7. 



OWLS. 



American Barn Owl— Cinereous Owl— Barred Owl— Long-Eared 

 Owl— Short-Eared Owl. 



The American Barn Owl, (Strix Americana, 

 And.,) is found throughout the United States, 

 and is seen as far north as the 44th degree of 

 latitude, but, according to DeKay, is more par- 

 ticularly a southern species, and is observed to be 

 quite common in the Southern States, where it is 

 resident. It so closely resembles the Barn Owl 

 of Euro])e, (Sfrix Jlammea,) that it was former- 

 ly described as identical with it, and accordingly 

 the history of both species was blended together. 

 Its favorite food is meadow mice, and other small 

 quadrupeds, swallowing them nearly whole, and 

 afterwards expelling by the mouth, in small, dry 

 balls, the hair, bones, and the other indigestible 

 portions ; this practice prevailing throughout the 

 Owl tribe. The favorite places of resort of this 

 Owl are hollow trees, in which it doubtless breeds ; 

 and it is sometimes found reposing in old barns ; 

 hence, probably, the origin of its name. Its 

 European congener is famed for making old ru- 

 ined castles, towers and churches its favorite 

 haunts, from whence its savage cries at night give, 

 to many minds, a cast of supernatural horror to 

 those venerable, decaying piles of antiquity. 



The length of this species is fifteen inches ; 

 breadth of wings, three feet, eight inches ; the 

 disk of radiating feathers around the eyes is re- 

 markably concave and extended, rendering the 

 physiognomy of this bird more remarkable than 

 that of any other night-bird ; whole upper parts 

 bright tawny yellow, variegated with oblong spots 

 of white, and finely sprinkled with whitish and 

 pale purple ; lower parts white, interspersed with 

 blackish spots. 



The Great Grey Owl, or Cinereous Owl, 

 {Si/rnium cinereum, Aud.,) though one of the 

 largest and most formidable of the Owls, is but 

 little known in this part of the country, it chiefly 

 residing in Labrador, and around Hudson's Bay, 

 occasionally retiring southward in the severe 

 weather of winter, visiting us at rare intervals, 

 but is probably more common in the northern 

 parts of New England. Only one or two instan- 

 ces are recorded of its having been taken in this 

 State. It is described as common in the deso- 

 late northern regions of the eastern continent. 



It constructs its nest in the tallest trees, usual- 

 ly selecting evergreens. This Owl is thirty inch- 

 es in length, and four feet in alar extent ; color, 

 grayish-brown, variegated with grayish-white on 

 the upper parts, and with yellowish-white below. 

 Like all the species of Owls yet described, it is 

 destitute of eai--tufts, or "horns." 



The Barred Owl, {Si/rnmm ncbtdosum, Aud.,) 

 the American representative of the Tawny Owl 

 of Europe, (>S7rtxs<ricZ({Zcr, Linn.,) is described as 

 one of our most common species by Wilson and 

 Audubon, being found abundantly in various parts 

 of the United States, particularly in Louisiana, 

 according to Audubon, and generally seems to 

 be more common in the Southern States than 

 elsewhere, though resident in most parts of the 

 country. It has been seen quite far to the north, 

 and is said to l)e rarely met with in Northern 

 Europe. It prefers the solitude of dense forests, 



breeding in trees, and laying Avhite, globular eggs. 

 "Its power of sight during the day," says Audu- 

 bon, "seems to be rather of an equivocal charac- 

 ter, as 1 once saw one alight on the back of a 

 cow, which it left so suddenly afterwards, when 

 the cow moved, as to prove to me that it had 

 mistaken the object on which it had perched for 

 something else ;" yet the same ornithologist speaks 

 of having seen them fly more than two miles, 

 from one piece of woods to another, in broad day- 

 light. The whole of Mr. Audubon's account of 

 this Owl is very interesting, and I transcribe a 

 single passage. "How often," says he, "when 

 snugly settled under the boughs of my temporary 

 encampment, and preparing to roast a venison 

 steak, or the body of a squirrel, on a wooden spit, 

 have I been saluted with the exulting bursts of 

 this nightly disturber of the peace, that, had it 

 not been for him, would have prevailed around 

 me, as well as in my lonely retreat ! How often 

 have I seen this nocturnal marauder alight within 

 a few yards of me, exposing his whole body to 

 the glare of my fire, and eye me in such a curi- 

 ous manner, that, had it been reasonable to do so, 

 I would gladly have invited him to walk in, and 

 join me in my repast, that I might have enjoyed 

 the pleasure of forming a better acquaintance 

 with him. The liveliness of his motions, joined 

 to their oddness, have often made me think that 

 his society would be at least as agreeable as that 

 of many of the buffoons we meet with in the 

 world. But as such opportunities of forming an 

 acquaintance have not existed, be content, kind 

 reader, with the imperfect information which I 

 can give you of the habits of this Sancho Panza 

 of our woods." 



This is an extremely noisy species, uttering its 

 cries from all parts of the woods at the approach 

 of evening, and in lowering weather becomes ex- 

 tremely vocifei'ous, even in the day-time, and in 

 the evening they respond to each other in tones 

 so strange, that one might suppose some extraor- 

 dinary fete about to take place among them ; and 

 their gesticulations when approached, are of a re- 

 markable and very ludicrous nature. If shot at 

 and missed, it utters its cry oi lohah-whah-whah, 

 with much pomposity. Though the usual food of 

 this bird is mice and small game, it sometimes 

 attacks young rabbits, partridges and poultry. 



There is much difference in the size of the 

 males and females of this species, the male gen- 

 erally measuring sixteen inches and a half in 

 length, and thirty-eight inches in extent ; the fe- 

 male twenty-two inches in length and four feet in 

 extent. Upper parts, pale brown, barred with 

 transverse spots of white, and on the wings with 

 dark brown and white ; breast, barred with trans- 

 verse rows of brown and white dots ; belly, yel- 

 lowish, streaked longitudinally with long stripes 

 of brown, without ear-tufts. 



The Long Eared Owl {Otus vulgaris, Flem.,) 

 observes Nuttall, "like several others of this ge- 

 nus {Strix of Linn.,) appears to be almost a den- 

 izen of the world, being found from Hudson's Bay 

 to the West Indies, throughout Europe, in Afri- 

 ca, northern Asia, and probably China, in all 

 which countries it appears to be resident ; but 

 seems to be very abundant in certain places in 

 winter, following rats and mice to their retreats 

 in or near houses and barns. They commonly 

 lodge in ruined buildings, the caverns of rocks, 



