OWLS. 



221 



tmctcd. It is capable of rapid flight, and, accordinff to Audubon, is 

 able to capturi! Ducks, Pigeons, and even Grouse on the wing, striking 

 them down alter the manner of the Duck Hawk. 



'•Of 38 stomaciis examined, 3 contained game birds; 9, other 

 birds; 18, mice; 2, other nuimmals; and 12 were empty" (l"'isher). 



377. Surnia ulula caparoch (J/'V/Zj. Amkukan Hawk Owl. 

 .'((/. — Size medium; no cur-tiifts ; iipjuT [mrts dark jrrayisli hrown or fiisoous; 

 heiid and hind neck spotted \vith wliite; hack, uml especially tcrtials, l)arrcil 

 with white; tail %vitli broken wliitisli bars, Icikj ami rnu/ii/nl, the outer 

 feathers more than an inch shorter than the niiildle ones; iiiicldle of the 

 throat with a fuscou.s spot and below it a white <ine ; sides of the nei'k atid 

 upper breast streaked with fuscous, rest of the under parts barred with fuscuus 

 and white; le^'s and feet fully feathered. L., 15-nu; W., ,s-7,"); T., T"-'5. 



liange. — Breeds from NewfouutUand northward, and occasionally wanders 

 southward in w inter as far as Pciiusylvania. 



^tst, in coniferous trees or in the holes of dead trees or stubs. /:'];/;/••<•, tlirec 

 to seven, TuO x \-l'i. 



"The Hawk Owl is slrictly diurnal, as much so as any of the 

 Hawks, and like some of them often selects a tall stub or dead-topped 

 tree in a comparatively open place for a pen h, where it sits in the 

 bright sunlight watching for its prey. 



"Although the flight is swift and hawklike, it has nevert'liele.ss 

 the soft, noiseless character common to the other Owls ; when starting 

 from any high place, such as the top of a tree, it usually pitches down 

 nearly to the ground, and flies o(T rapidly above the tops of the bushes 

 or high grass, abruptly arising again as it seeks another perch, 



"The note is a shrill cry, which is uttered generally while the bird 

 is on the wing " (Fisher). 



378a. Speotjrto cunicularia floridana Uhlijn'. Ki.oi:ti>A P>i i:- 



I'.owiNfi Owl. Ad. — Size small; no ear-tufts; hija ami fcit iiiarli/ nnkul ; 

 ui)per parts ^'ravish brown, sj)otted and barri;d ^ith white; throat white, rest 

 of the untler jiarts b.irred with grayish brown and white in about e<iual 

 amounts. L., tfOO; W., (•.•.->0; T., n-(iO; Tar., VI'k 



lidiiijc. — Southern Florida, ehieHy in the Kissiminee " prairie" re;rion of 

 Osceola. Polk, and De Soto Counties, and also Manatei' County. 



Xist, in a hole in the ground excavated by the binl. A';/;'.-', five to seven, 

 1-23 X 1-0.1. 



This dinrnal Owl is locally iibmulant in its restricted range. Ex- 

 cellent accounts of its habits will be found under the following refer- 

 ences: Rhoads, Auk, ix. IN!)'.}, pp. 1-8; Scott, ibid., 210-1:218; lieiulire, 

 Life Histories North American Birds, pp. 400-402. 



The HiKitowiNo Owl (878. S/ieoti/to cunicularia hi/pofida), well known 

 in our Western States, has been taken once in Massachusetts. 



\:r\ 



