BURROWING OWL. 157 



diurnal habits in South America, Mr. W. H. Hudson writes that, " all day long, in 

 cold and in heat, it stands exposed at the mouth of its kennel, or on the viscacha's 

 mound, staring at the passer-by "■.vitli an exj^ression of grave surprise and repre- 

 hension in its round yellow eyes ; male and female invariably together, standing 

 stift' and erect, almost touching — of all birds that pair for life the most Darby-and- 

 Joan-like." In North America, where these owls are mainly confined to the 

 prairie-regions. Captain Bendire writes that they " may be seen sitting in front of 

 their burrows at any hour of the day. When not unduly molested, they are not at 

 all shy, and usually allow one to approach them near enough to note their curious 

 antics. Their long slender legs give them rather a comical look, a sort of top- 

 heavy appearance, and they are proverbially polite, being sure to bow to you as 

 you pass by. Should you circle around them they will keep you constantly in 

 view, and if this is kept up, it sometimes seems as if they were in danger of twisting 

 their heads off in attempting to keep you in sight. If you venture too close, they 

 will rise and fly a short distance, and generally settle down near the mouth of 

 another burrow close by, uttering at the same time a chattering sort of note, and 

 repeat the bowing performance. Occasionally, when disturbed, they alight on a 

 small sage-bush, probably to get a better view of the surroundings." 



In many parts of North America, the burrowing owl takes up its quarters in 

 the warrens of the prairie-marmot {Cynomys), one pair of birds to a burrow ; and it 

 was at one time thought that both owls and marmots, together with the rattlesnakes 

 which likewise frequent the colonies, lived together as a kind of happy family. 

 Modern research has, however, shown that this is one of many zoological fables. 

 Captain Bendire is indeed of opinion that, in spite of its diminutive stature, the 

 owl is a match both for the marmot and the snake, and that it subsists to some 

 extent on the young marmots, if not also on the old ones. In parts where there 

 are no marmots, such as California and Oregon, the owls generally frequent the 

 burrows of the susliks {Sperinophilus), which they enlarge to suit their own 

 requirements ; and Dr. Coues states, they sometimes occupy the earths of wolves, 

 foxes, or badgers. From having been found living alone, the latter writer thinks 

 that the owls may sometimes excavate their own burrows, but this is considered 

 improbable by Captain Bendire. On the pampas of Argentina, the bvirrowing owls 

 take up their residence wdtli the viscacha (Lagostomus). Mr. Hudson says that the 

 " birds generally make their own burrows to breed in, or sometimes take possession 

 of one of the lesser outside burrows of the village ; but their favourite residence, 

 when not engaged in tending their eggs or young, is on the viscacheria." During 

 the daytime they are exceedingly bold, flying and screaming round the head of 

 the intruder on their domains (as the writer has often witnessed) ; while at night 

 their weird cry resounds across the silent pampas. In North America the food of 

 these owls consists of young prairie-marmots, susliks, chipmunks, gophers, and 

 other small mannnals, as well as lizards, frogs, fish, large insects, and pei'haps small 

 birds. The owls hunt their prey mainly in the early evening and during the 

 night, and but rarely in the daytime ; they are exceedingly voracious, each 

 bird being said to eat fully its own weight in the twent}' -four hours, if it can 

 obtain a suflacient supply. In North America the breeding-season commences 

 in the latter part of March ; the same burrow being generally used year after 



