THE GREAT HOEXED OWL. 61 



Uieir inner weos with dark-fulvons : a black sf*t al>jve the ey^ ' _ ' - 

 behind the eye, varying in color from near'.v —bit? :: lart r=i: : - t 



the latter ; feathers of the iacial disc tipped . neck before, white : 



breast with wide longitudinal stripes of b^:i: i-j:.ii 's^:.^ parts v^ ' _ -^'th 



white and fulvous, and every feather having transverse, narrow lines - ■.•wu, 



middle of the abdomen frequently, but not always, white ; legs and toes varyiiu; 

 from white to dark-fiilvous, usually pale-fulvous ; in mc-st specimens imspotted. bat 

 frequently, and probably always in fully mature specimen?, with transverse, narrow 

 bars of dark-brown; quills brown, with wide transverse bands of cineTeoiis, and 

 usually tinged on the intner webs with pale fulvou; : -""' ''"': same, with the foivous 

 predominating on the outer feathers : iris yellow: ;. iws bluish-black. 



Dimensions. — Female, leugth, twenty-one to t^enty-rive inches; wing, fonneen 

 and a half to sixteen ; tail, ten inches. Male, eijAteen to twenty-one inches : wing, 

 fourteen to lifteen ; tail; nine inches. 



THIS well-known bird is a resident in all the Xew-England 

 States throusfhout the vear. It is not so common in Mas- 

 sachusetts, Connecticut, and Ehode Island as in tl:: '' : 

 States, where, in the vast tracts of forest, it is quit^ c. ..ai- 

 dant ; so much so. that 1 have heai'd several of them at the 

 same time making •• night hideous with their discordant, 

 mournful cries." Xever shall I forget a serenade I once had 

 the pleasure of hearing in the State of Maine, in which this 

 bird maintained the basso. We were encamped on the 

 shores of Lake Umbagog : our tent was pitched on a bluff 

 overlooking the lake, and behind us was the deep, dark 

 forest of pines and hemlocks. We had just got fairly into 

 our first nap, the sweet follower of our dav's toils, when we 

 were awakened hj the hootings of one of these owls, •• Wawj?i, 

 Jioo, hjo, hoo!'' or "Who cooks for you?"' as the Western 

 traveller understood it, which seemed to be addressed to us 

 fi'om a tree almost over our teni. We listened : presently 

 another took up the theme, and then both together. They 

 had scarcely finished their duet, when, fi"om away up the 

 lake, came the shrill, mournful cry or scream of the Loon : 

 this was continued and answered by others, until, with owls 

 and loons, the nigrht was vocal with melodious sounds. 

 After this had died away, and all was still, there came from 

 a bush near our tent the almost heavenly song of the White- 

 throated Sparrow, the " Nightingale of the Xorth.'' One 



