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216 



OWLS. 



two or three white or buffy white l)ara; tail with six to eijjjlit similar bars; 

 facial dlslt gray, tinely barred or mottled with fuscous; under jiarts white, 

 more or less tinired witli butty, tiie breast fxtrrcil, the sides and belly broadly 

 streaked witli fuscous; bill yellow ; lejfs aiul feet ieatiiered to or near the bases 

 of the nu.ls; eyes brownisli black. L., "JU-OO; W., l^-oO; T., 9-50; B., 1-50. 



liaiHje. — Kastern North America, nortliward to Nova Scotia and Manitoba ; 

 resident, except at the northern limit of its ran^^e. 



Washington, not connnon 1'. K. Sing Sing, rare 1'. R. Cambridge, rare 

 1*. K., sometimes common in Nov. and Dec. 



I\'<'Kt, in a hollow tree ; sometimes in an (Jld Crow's or Hawk's nest. Jujcf^, 

 two to tour, 2'' X ro'). 



The deep-toned, que.stioning voice, the absence of "horns," and the 

 dark-brown, nearly black eyes, combine to make Barred Owls appear 

 among the most human of these strangely human birds. They inhabit 

 large tracts of woodland, and are generally resident in certain localities. 

 Their notes are uttered more or less throughout the year, but are more 

 frequently heard during the nesting rea.son. As a rule ihey call oidy 

 during the first i)art of the night and again before sunrise, but on 

 moonlight niglits they call throughout the niglit, and occasionally 

 they may be heard during the day. They readily respond to an imi- 

 tation of their cries, and even at midday 1 have drawn tliom from 

 their nesting place to meet a supposed intruder on their domain. Un- 

 der favorable circumstances they may be heard at a distance of at 

 least half a mile. 



Their usual call is a sonorous tvhu6-u'hm)-ivh66, trhu-irhdo, fa-whud- 

 dh. This is varied, both as to relative position and length of the 

 syllables, by the sa'ue individuals, and is apparently the cry of ques- 

 tion and response. When two birds, jierliaps rival males, come to- 

 gether, there ensues a striking medley of tvhd-whds mingled with roll- 

 ing u'had-dhs, the whole reminding one of doep-v(>iced, mirthless 

 laughter. Sometimes two birds give a concerted performance. One 

 utters about ten rapid hoots, wliile tiie other, in a slightly hi^dier tone, 

 hoots half as fast, both performers ending together with a u'hud-uh. 

 At tnnes they utter a single, prohmged wli dri-d/i, and more rarely a 

 weird, gasping shriek emphasized at its conclusion like a cry of dis- 

 tress. 



"Of 109 stonuichs examined, 5 contained poultry or game; 13, 

 otlier birds: 46, mice: 18, other mammals; 4, frogs; 1, a lizard; 2, 

 fish; 14, insects; 2. spiders; n, crawfish: ami 20 were em])ty" 

 (Fisher). 



868a. S. n. alleni /I'li/i/ir. Fi.oimoa Baurkd Owi,.— Similar to the 

 jirecciling, Imt averaging somcwiiat darker, and witii the toes nearly naked. 

 W., I'J-oO; T., 8-50. 



liange. — Florida, and region of the tJulf coast to Texas. 



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