470 AVES—OWL., 
LHE! BURROW ING OWL 
DirFERs essentially from all others in his habits and manners. Instead of 
hiding his head in the daylight, he fearlessly flies abroad in search of prey, 
in the broadest glare of the sun; and far from seeking abodes of solitude and 
silence, he lives in company with animals in the recesses of the earth, where 
they all enjoy the pleasures of fellowship and good harmony. The mounds 
of the prairie dog or marmot, which are thrown up in such numbers near 
the Rocky Mountains, are about eighteen inches in height. The entrance 
is by a passage two feet in length, which terminates in a comfortable cell 
composed of dry grass, where the marmot takes up his winter abode. 
Around these villages, the burrowing owls may be seen moving briskly 
about, singly or in small flocks. They seem to have very little fear of man, 
either soaring to a distance when alarmed, or descending into the burrows, 
where it is very difficult to come at them. In countries where the marmot 
1s not found, this ow] is said to dig a hole for himself. Their food appears 
to consist entirely of insects. Its note is similar to the cry of the marmot, 
which sounds like cheh, cheh, pronounced in rapid succession. 
The burrowing owl is nine inches and a half long. The general color ot 
the plumage is a light burnt umber, spotted with whitish. The under parts 
are white, banded with brown. 
All this tribe of animals, however they may differ in their size and 
plumage, agree in their general characteristics of preying by night; their 
bodies are strong and muscular ; their feet and-claws made for tearing their 
prey; and their stomachs for digesting it. Jt must be remarked, however, 
that the digestion of all birds that live upon mice, lizards, or such like food, 
is not very perfect; for though they swallow them whole, yet they are always 
seen some time after to disgorge the skin and bones rolled up in a ages as 
being indigestible. 
As they are incapable of supporting the light of the day, or at least of heh 
seeing and readily avoiding their danger, they keep all this time concealed 
in some obscure retreat, suited to their gloomy appetites, and there continue 
in solitude and silence. The cavern of a rock, the darkest part of a hollow 
tree, the battlements of a ruined, unfrequented eastle, or some obscure hole , 
in a farmer’s outhouse, are the places where they are usually found; if they 
be seen out of these retreats in the daytime, they may be considered as 
having lost their way ; as having by some accident been thrown into the 
midst of their enemies, and surrounded with danger. 
In this distress they are obliged to take shelter in the first tree or hedge 
hat offers, there to continue concealed all day, till the returning darknes 
1 Strix cunicularia, Bonar. 
