32 xoimi AMEiircAN uirds. 



ingtou Territory, where it is ]>re.suiiu'd to bo a resident. It is also said to 1)e 

 a resident in Canada, and to he round in the vieinity of JMontreal. ]\Ir. 

 Lawrence does not inehide tliis liird in liis list of the 1)irds of New York, 

 hut Mr. Tinnbull states that several have been taken as far south as New 

 Jersey. Throuj;hout New Kn<j;land it is occasional in the winter, but com- 

 paratively rare. Mr. Allen tlid not hear of any having been taken near 

 Sin-ingfield. On the coast of Massachusetts they are of infreuiuent occur- 

 rence, and are held at iiigh prices. A tine specimen was shot in Lynn in 

 the winter of 1872, and is now in the collection of my n(!i)hew, W. S. 

 Brewer. On the Pacilic coast it is resident as I'ar south as the mouth of 

 the Columbia, and is found in winter in Northern California. 



Dr. liichardson met with tliis Owl in the fur regions, where it seemed 

 to be by no nieans rare. He mentions it as an inhabitant of all the wooded 

 districts which lie between Lsike Superior and latitude 07° and 08°, and be- 

 tween Hudson's Hay and the Pacific. It was connnon on the borders of 

 (ireat Uear Lake, in which region, as well as in a higher parallel of latitude, 

 it pursues its prey during the summer months by daylight. It was observed 

 to keep constantly within the woods, and was not seen to fre(iuent the barren 

 grounds, in the manner of the Snowy Owl, nor was it so often met with in 

 broad daylight as the Hawk Owl, apparently preferring to hunt when the 

 sun was low and the recesses of the woods deeplj^ shadowed, when the hares 

 and other smaller quadrupeds, upon which it chiefly feeds, were most 

 abundant. 



On the 23d of May, Dr. Eichardson discovered a ntst of this Owl, Ituilt 

 on the top of a lofty balsam-poplar, composed of sticks, with a lining of 

 feathers. It contained three young birds, covered with a whitish down, 

 to secure which it was necessary to cut down the tree. While this was 

 going on, the parent birds flew in circles around the tree, keeping out of 

 gun-shot, and apparently undisturbed by the light. Tlie young birds 

 were ke))t alive for several weeks, but finally escaped. They had the 

 habit, when any one entered the room in which they were kept, of tlu'ow- 

 ing themselves back and making a loud suai)i)ing noise with their bills. 



In February, IKil, as Audubon was informed, a fine specimen of one 

 of these Owls was taken alive in Marblehcad, Afass., luning been seen 

 perched upon a woodi)ile early in the morning. It was obtained by Mr. 

 Ives, of Salem, by whom it was ke]it several months. It was fed on fish 

 and small birds, and ate its food readily. It would at times utter a tremu- 

 lous cry, not unlike that of the common Screech-Owl (.'^^ro/w asio), and 

 manifested the greatest antipathy to cats and dogs. 



Dr. Cooper foinul this bird near the mouth of the Columbia Eivcr, in 

 a brackish meadow partially covered with small spruce-trees, where they 

 sat concealed during the day, or made short flights from one to another. 

 Dr. Cooper procured a specimen tliere in June, and lias no doubt that the 

 bird is resident and breeds iu that neigliborhood. He regards it as some- 



