^ 



218 



OWLS. 



U i 



ft'athf!rf?<l. huffy white, unbarred ; eyes yellow, /w.— Upper parts as in the 

 a<l., but head and haek with little or no white ; breast like the baek ; belly 

 oehraccr,urt-huH'. L., 800; W., r)-40; T., 2-sO; H., -CO. 



Jin/i'irlv. — Its small size and al)senee of ears at once distinfruish this 

 speciew from any Owl of eastern North America except 3'. t. riclutnli-rini^ from 

 wliieh it may be known by its lighter color, streaked instcail of spotted head, 

 and unbarred legs and feet. 



liniiij)-.. — North .America; bi-ci-ds from northern New York northward, and 

 migrates southward in winter as far as \'irginia. 



Washimrton, rare W. V., Oct. to Mch. Sing Sing, rather rare W. V., Oct. 

 as to Jan. \%. Cambridge, not uncommon W. V., Nov. to Mch. 



Xt«t, in a liole in a tree ; frc(juently a Woodpeckei'\s, .sometimes a S^uir- 

 rel's deserted nest. J'-^<Jil^i three to five, TIO x TOO. 



" The species is not migratory, but is more or less of an irregular 

 wanderer in its seait'h for food during the fall and winter. It may 

 \Hi quite common in a locality and then not be .«een again for several 

 years. It is nocturnal, seldom moving about in the daytime, but pass- 

 ing the time in sleeping in some dark retreat. So soundly does it sleep 

 that oftentimes it may be captured alive. . . . 



" During the day it frecpients the thick evergreen woods, though 

 srunetimes it is found in comparatively open, groves, but always in 

 dense trees. . . . 



"The note of this species is peculiar and has a rasping character, 

 resembling the sound made when a large-toothed saw is being filed ; 

 hence the name. It is more often heard during March and early April, 

 though occasionally it is heard at other times of the year. 



"The flight resembles that of the Woodcock very closely — so much 

 so, in fact, that the writer once killed a sjiecimen as it was flying over 

 the alders, and not until the dog pointed the dead bird was he aware 

 of his mistake. . . . 



"Oi" 22 stomachs exainined, 17 contained mice; 1, a bird; 1, an 

 insect ; and 8 were empty " (Fisher). 



878« Megascops asio (A //*;(.). Scukkcm Owi,. AiL.rufomi phase— 

 Size small; ear-tufts conspic\ious,aV)out an inch in length ; ujipcr parts briirht 

 rufous, finely streaked with black : under jtarts white, the feathers centrally 

 streaked with l)lack and irregularly barred with rufous; toes rattier scantily 

 featlK'fwl; eyes yellow. '//'".'/ phnne. — I'pper parts generally brownish gray, 

 streaked with bhiek and finely mottled witli ochraeeoMs-biiff; under parts 

 wliite, finely stn-aked and more finely and irrcirularly barred with black, 

 more or less fjordered by rufous. I'ouinj. — Entire plumage regularly barred 

 with irrayish or rufous and white. L., 0-40; \V.. tV.}(i; T., «-O0 ; T?.. ••!;!. 



//'//i'/rj{>.— This bird uuiy be known by its small size and ear-tufts. Its 

 color piiHsos are not dependent iipon age, sex, or season, and both phases are 

 jMimetimi's repnsentcd in the suniu brood. Between the two there is a com- 

 plete intergradation. 



