THE GREAT GRAY OWL. 345 



117. Scotiaptex cinerea (Gmelin). 



GREAT GRAY OWL. 



Strix cinerea Gmelin, Systema Naturse, i, i, 1788, 291. 

 Scotiaptex cinerea Swainson, Classification of Birds, 11, 1837, 317. 

 (B 53, G 332. R 399, C 474, U 370.) 



Geographical range: ISTortliern North America, soutli in winter to the northern 

 border of the United States. 



The breeding range of the Great Gray Owl is confined principally to the 

 more northern regions of the North American continent, from the shore? of Hud- 

 son Bay north to the limit of timber in about latitude 68°. It is reported com- 

 mon throughout the fur country and the interior of Alaska, and has also been 

 met with by Drs. Cooper and Newberry in different parts of the Pacific coast. 

 The former observed it near the mouth of the Columbia River -in June, and 

 obtained a specimen at the time, which would certainly indicate that it might 

 breed in the vicinity, while the latter is said to have observed it as far south as 

 Sacramento Valley in California, as well as in the Cascade Mountains, the Des 

 Chutes Basin, and on the Columbia River, in Oregon. During an extended 

 tour of duty in various parts of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, I failed to 

 meet with this species at any time of the year. It is more or less migratory 

 during the winter, and much more abundantly met with along our northern 

 border in some seasons than others. The winter of 1889-90 was a notable 

 instance, and quite a number of these birds were captured or seen in various 

 parts of the New England States. Nothing new respecting the nesting habits 

 of this Owl has been recorded within recent years. 



In the "History of North American Birds," 1874 (Vol. iii, pp. 32, 33), 

 it 'is stated: "On the 23d of May, Dr. Richardson discovered a nest of this 

 Owl built on the top of a lofty balsam poplar, composed of sticks with a 

 lining of feathers. It contained three young birds covered with whitish 

 down. * * * 



"Mr. Donald Gunn writes that tlie Cinereous Owl is to be found both 

 in summer and winter tlu-oughout all the cotintry commonly known as the 

 Hudson Bay Territory. He states that it hunts by night, preys upon rabbits 

 and mice, and nests in tall poplar trees, usually quite early in the season." 



Mr. R. MacFarlane, in his "Notes on the Land and Sea Birds of the Lower 

 Mackenzie River District," says: "I should not say that this Owl was in 'great 

 abundance' in the Anderson River region, as inadvertently stated on page 

 33, volume iii, of the 'History of North American Birds.' We certainly 

 obtained very few specimens, and we found but one nest (which is referred 

 to in the same paragraph), on the 19th of July, 1862, near the Lockhart 

 River on the route to Fort Good Hope; it was built on a spruce pine tree 

 at a height of about 20 feet and was composed of twigs and mosses, thinly 

 lined with feathers and down. It contained two eggs and two young, both 

 of which had lately died. The female left the nest at our approach and flew 

 to another tree at some distance, where she was shot." 



