_i 



COQUIMBO, OR BURROWING O^h.— Athene cunicularia. 



fisherman, posting itself on some convenient spot overhanging the water, and securing 

 its finny prey with a lightning-like grasp of the claw as it passes beneath the white-clad 

 fisher. Sometimes it will sail over the surface of the stream, and snatch the fish as they 

 rise for food, but its general mode of angling is that which has just been mentioned. It 

 is also a great eater of lemmings ; and in the destruction of these quadrupedal pests, does 

 infinite service to the agriculturist and the population in general. 



The large round eyes of this bird are very beautiful, and even by daylight are 

 remarkable for their gem-like sheen, but in the evening they are still more attractive, and 

 glow like two balls of living fire. There is an amusing anecdote respecting one of these 

 Owls, which settled on the rigging of a ship by night to rest itself after a long journey. 

 The bird was quietly seated on one of the yards, when it was suddenly roused by a sailor 

 who was sent aloft upon some nautical duty. The man, terrified at the two glowing eyes 

 that suddenly opened upon him, descended precipitately from the rigging, declaring that 

 "Da\y Jones" was sitting on the main yard. Several instances are known where Snowy 

 Owls have made use of a ship as a temporary resting-place. On one such occasion, the 

 ship was visited by no less than sixty of these birds, which were so fatigued that they 

 permitted themselves to be captured by the crew. 



The cciStir bf an old Snowy Owl is pure white without any markings whatever ; but 

 in the earlier years of its life, its plumage is covered with numerous dark-brown spots and 

 bars, caused by a dark tip to each feather. Upon the breast and abdomen, these markings 

 form short abrupt curves, but on the back and upper surface they are nearly straight. 

 The beak and claws are black. The length of the male Snowy Owl is about twenty-two 

 inches, and that of the female twenty-six or twenty-seven. 



The quaint, long-legged little Owl which is represented in the accompanying 

 illustration is a native of many parts of America, where it inhabits the same locality with 

 the prairie dog. The description of that curious marmot and its peculiar burrow may be 

 found in Volume I. 



The prairie dogs and Burrowing Owls live together very harmoniously ; and this strange 

 society is said also to be augmented by a third member, namely, the rattlesnake. It is 

 now, however, a;^certained with tolerable accuracy that the rattlesnake is nothing but a 

 2. H 



