26 THE O. & O. SEMI-ANNUAL. 
THE AMERICAN LONG-EARED OWL. 
Asto Wilsonianus. 
BY DR. W. 8. STRODE, BERNADOTTE, ILL. 
This interesting Lwbonide is not uncommon in suitable local- 
ities throughout the state of Illinois. From its shy and retiring 
habits it is not often met with by the casual observer. In thick 
groves and belts of young timber, bordering sloughs and small 
streams of water, it is most often seen. 
x VAC 
ADT |'"\thiy SSN 
GG f 
UD 
Philba Vat\\ 
\W ¥ 
‘ NNER X\\ 
NRA 
WW 
N\ . ANY 
Vat 
AMERICAN LONG-EARED OWL. 
In the Spoon River region of central Illinois, its eggs should 
be sought for from the middle to the end.of March. The number - 
of eggs seems to vary in different localities. In the eastern states 
three or four is the usual number. In the western states five is 
the average and six not uncommon. 
In the spring of 1887 I found two nests, one containing four 
and the other five fresh eggs. In ’88 two nests were found, each 
containing five eggs, some of them partly incubated, and, as I 
shall hereafter show, this record was beaten during the collecting 
season just passed. 
