TuE Scops Eared-Owl. - 



-BIRDS.- 



-The Eagle Owl. 



267 



be tlie unintentional tutor of the young owl. In the 

 United States the food of the Burrowing Owls, accord- 

 ing to the writer just quoted, consists exclusively of 

 insects, and they seem never to touch the marmots 

 among which they reside; but in the West Indies 

 they are said to prey not only upon insects, but also 

 upon rats, mice, and reptUes. The Burrowing Owl is a 

 small species, only measuring between nine and ten 

 inches in length. The plumage above is of a liglit 

 amber-brown, with whitish spots ; that of the lower 

 surface is whitish witli bro-mi bands on the breast. 



THE LITTLE AMERICAlf OWL (Nyctale acadica) is 

 a very small species, measuring only seven inches and 

 a half in length. It inhabits the middle and northern 

 states of the American Union and extends as far north 

 as Nova Scotia and the Hudson's Bay territory. It 

 occurs most abundantly towards the sea-shore, and 

 amongst woods and pine swamps, in the shade of the 

 sombre foliage of which it dozes through the day. 

 The twilight is its period of activity, and its prey con- 

 sists principally of mice, which it catches with great 

 dexterity. 



TENGMALM'S OWX {Nyctale funerea), another 

 abundant North American species, a little larger than 

 tlie preceding, is also found in the forests of Northern 

 Europe, and more sparingly in the more southern ])arts 

 of the Continent. It has also been met witli m Egypt. 

 In this country it is rarely seen. In America it occurs 

 most abundantly in the Hudson's Bay territories, where, 

 according to Sir John Richardson, it occupies all the 

 wooded country from the Great Slave Lake to the 

 United States, but is most plentiful on the banks of the 

 Saskatchewan. It is nocturnal in its liabits, and can- 

 not bear the light of day. Its cry is a single melancholy 

 note, repeated at intervals of a minute or two, and the 

 Indians have a superstitious practice of whistling when 

 they hear it. They suppose that if the bird does not 

 reply it is a sign of the speedy death of the whistler, 

 and hence the Cree Indians call it the Death-hinl. 

 Like the preceding species, it builds a nest about half- 

 way up a [line-tree, and laj-s two white eggs. 



THE SCOPS EARED-OWL {Ephiallcs Scops), theLiUle 

 Horned Owl of some -ttTiters, is one of the smallest 

 species of the family, measuring little more than seven 

 inches in length. Like many other owls, its head is 

 adorned with two tufts of feathers, which in this species 

 resemble small pointed ears, projecting upwards and 

 backwards from behind the eyes. Its beak is short, 

 and the feet feathered only to the base of the toes, 

 wliich are naked both above and below. The colour 

 of the plumage of the hack consists of two shades of 

 lirown, mottled with gi'ey, and barred with dark lines ; 

 the tail featliers are barred and spotted with brown 

 and black; the lower surface is gi'ejdsh, mottled and 

 streaked with different shades of brown. 



The regions inhabited by this little owl lie further to 

 the south than those which constitute the favourite 

 residence of the preceding species. It is found abun- 

 dantly in the southern coimtries of Europe, especially 

 in Italy and France, but appears to migrate even 

 thence into the warmer regions of Africa for the winter 

 season. In France it is said to appear and depart with 

 the swallows. It occurs in India, and breeds in the 



Himalayas at an elevation of five thousand feet. It is 

 a rare visitor to Britain, but several specimens have 

 been taken in different parts of England. Its habits 

 are nocturnal, and, according to the late Mr. Spence, its 

 melancholy cry of keic, kew, may be heard in Italy at 

 intervals of about two seconds almost all night long. Its 

 food consists of mice, beetles, moths, and other insects. 

 When reposing on the branch of a tree during the day, 

 it does not, according to Dr. Gerbes, a French ornitho- 

 logist, sit transversely on its resting-place, as is usual 

 with birds, but almost always takes up a position paral- 

 lel to it. The nest of the Scops Eared-owl is formed 

 in the holes of trees and old walls ; it lays from tin-ee to 

 four white eggs. It may be tamed with great facility, 

 and is an interesting tittle bird in confinement. 



THE RED EARED-OWL {Ephiallcs Asio) is a Nortli- 

 American species, and appears to be tolerably common 

 in the United States, especially towards the north. It 

 migi-ates southwards in the winter. It frequents the 

 high groimds, and feeds on mice, small birds, beetles, 

 and other insects. During the day this bird roosts in the 

 thick evergreen trees, and comes abroad in the even- 

 ing, when it may be heard uttering a peculiar cry, 

 described by Wilson as a " melancholy quivering kind 

 of wailing," from which it has acquired the name of the 

 Little Screech-owl. Its nest is made with a little liay 

 and a few feathers in the hole of a tree ; in this the 

 female usually deposits four white eggs. 



THE EAGLE OWL {Buho maximus), one of the largest 

 species of this family, is an inhabitant of Europe, where 

 it is tolerably common in the great forests of the Conti- 

 nent, but is only a rare and occasional visitor to the 

 British islands. It is also found in many parts of Asia, 

 even as far to the east as China. When full-grown 

 this bird measures fi'om twenty- four to twenty- eight 

 niches in length, the females being the largest. The 

 colour of the plumage on the head, neck, and back, is 

 reddish-brown, streaked and mottled with dark brown ; 

 the quill feathers of the tail and wings are barred trans- 

 versely with dark brown; the feathers of the facial discs 

 are light browm, speckled with black, and below the face 

 are some white feathers, forming a more or less distmct 

 irregidar white band ; the lower surface is pale bi'own, 

 spotted and han-ed with dark brown, '^hi head is 

 ornamented with two large tufts of feathers which stand 

 up above the eyes hke horns; and the feet are feathered 

 down to the extremities of the toes. 



Although this magnificent owl is so common in some 

 parts of Europe, its habits appear to have been but 

 little studied. Its activity is principally nocturnal, 

 although it appears able to support the light better than 

 some of its allies. Its prey consists of hares, grouse, 

 and partridges, which fall easy victims to a bird of its 

 strength and size. Some wi'iters state that its courage 

 is equal to its powers, and that it has no fear of a dog ; 

 wiien hard pressed it is said to throw itself on its back 

 and defend itself vigorously with its claws. It has even 

 been described as contending successfully with the eagle, 

 and a French writer tells us that he witnessed an engage- 

 ment of this kmd, in which the owl fixed Iiimself so 

 firmly to his adversary with his talons, that both came 

 to the ground together, and were taken alive. 



The nest of the Eagle Owl is a bulky structure, usu- 



