OWLS-BUZZARDS-HAWKS. 



167 



in a faunal sense, for the decrease of latitude. Fitted to endure great 

 cold, it is resident in our northern districts. He procured a speci- 

 men, in the depth of winter, at Boar's Head, on the New Hamp- 

 shire coast, and another at Fort Randall, in January, when the 

 temperature had been ranging far below zero. The last-named, a 

 fine adult example, was brought to him alive by Lieut. W. J. 

 Campbell, who found it in the possession of an Indian, and he kept 

 it for some time in the doctor's study before it died, probably of 

 inanition. It refused food, and after death its body was found 

 greatly emaciated. Although so puny and weak, the little bird 

 showed good spirit, setting back with an air of defiance when ap- 

 proached, snapping its little bill, and pecking as hard as it could 

 when he took it in hand ; but after soothing it for a few moments, 

 it would seem appeased, roost quietly on his finger, and apparently 

 liked to have its poll quietly scratched. In its noiseless fluttering 

 about the room by night, it more resembled a big bat than a bird ; 

 in perching, as it did by preference, on the edge of the table or 

 of a pile of books, it stood with its claws bent inward, so that their 

 convexities, and not the points, rested against the support. 



The food of this interesting little Owl, which is not so large as a 

 Robin, though it appears bulkier, consists chiefly of insects. Its 

 nesting, according to Wilson and Audubon, is various : sometimes 

 it builds in the branches of trees, while at other times it will occupy 

 the deserted nests of other birds, or lay in a hollow tree. The eggs 

 are pure white, subspherical, of crystaline clearness, measuring 

 one and one-eighth inches by one and seven-eighth inches. 



Mr. Gentry informed him of a curious circumstance in regard to 

 this Owl. Referring to the association of the Burrowing Owl of 

 the West with the prairie-dog, he continues : " In the hollow of an 

 oak-tree, not far from Germantown, lives an individual of the 

 common chickaree squirrel (Sciurus hudsonius), with a specimen 

 of this little Owl as his sole companion. They occupy the same 

 hole together in perfect harmony and mutual good-will. It is not 

 accidental temporary association, for the bird and squirrel have re- 

 peatedly been observed to enter the same hole together, as if they 

 had always shared the apartment. But what benefit can either de- 

 rive from the other ?" 



Western Mottled Owl; McCall's Owl. {Scop asio,var. maccalli.) 

 Fig. 8. 



Northern Mottled Owl; Kennicott's Owl. (Scops asto^var. kennicottt.) 



Fig. 9. 



McCall's Owl is a variety or southern form, from the south- 

 western borders and southward ; and Kennicott's Owl is a northern 

 form or variety, from Alaska, of the common Mottled Owl, of 

 North America, represented on Plate LXXXI, fig. 3, page 125. 



Harlan's Buzzard, or Hawk ; Black Warrior. (Buteo harlani.) 



Fig. 10. 



Audubon obtained a pair of these birds at St. Francisville, 

 Louisiana. He considered it allied to the Red-tailed Hawk, or 

 Buzzard, represented on Plate XXX, page 37. Its flight is de- 

 scribed by him as rapid, greatly protracted, and so powerful as to 

 enable it to seize the prey with apparent ease, or effect its escape 

 from its stronger antagonist, the Red-tail, which pursued it on all 

 occasions. He saw it pounce upon a fowl, and kill it almost in- 

 stantly, and afterward drag it along the ground several hundred 

 yards. He did not see it prey on hares or squirrels, but it seemed 

 to evince a marked preference for poultry, partridges, and the 

 smaller species of wild duck. 



Cooper's Red-tailed Hawk, or Buzzard. (Buteo cooperi.) 



Fig. 11. 



Dr. Cooper obtained the only specimen known of this species, 

 near Mountain View, in the Santa Clara Valley, California, in 

 November, 1855. ^ ts colors are somewhat lighter than any other 

 of our North American Buteos. 



Harris' Buzzard, or Hawk. (Buteo anicinctus var. harrisi^) 

 Fig. 12. 



This bird is a South and Central American species, extending 

 its migrations from the Isthmus of Panama north to our southern 

 Gulf States. It was named in honor of Mr. Edward Harris, by 

 Mr. Audubon, who first met with it in Louisiana. It is very com- 

 mon about the mouth of the Rio Grande. Mr. Dresser, who 

 found it quite common throughout Texas, to the Colorado River, 

 and at Matamoras, in summer, describes it as a heavy, sluggish 

 bird, seldom seen on the wing, and subsisting, so far as he could 

 see, entirely on carrion. All along the road from Brownsville to 

 San Antonio, he noticed it, either perched on some tree by the 

 roadside, or busy, in company with Vultures and Caracaras, re- 

 galing on some offensive carrion. He found it breeding in the 

 neighborhood of San Antonio, Medina, and Altascosa Rivers, 

 having eggs in the month of May. A nest found near Medina 

 River was built of sticks, very slightly lined, and was placed in a 

 low hackberry tree. The eggs, four in number, were white, with 

 a faint bluish tinge, very sparingly spotted and blotched with red. 



Chicken Hawk ; Cooper's Hawk. (Accipiter cooperii.) 



Fig. 13. 



We copy from Dr. Coues' interesting account of this species — 

 Birds of the Northwest : , page 334 — the following : 



" The range of Cooper's Hawk is, in a measure, complemen- 

 tary to that of the Goshawk ; not that the two are never found 

 together, for such is the case in all our Northern States; but one 

 is as decidedly southern as the other is northerly. The present 

 species does not appear to penetrate any great distance into the 

 British possessions, like its smaller relative, the Sharp-shinned ; 

 and I have found no indication whatever of its presence far north. 

 It is abundant in most parts of the United States ; particularly so 

 in New England, where it is, perhaps, the most numerous of all 

 the birds of prey. It appears to breed indifferently in all suitable 

 places throughout its United States range ; and, to judge by the 

 well-known rule of difference in size according to latitude, it is a 

 resident bird. Gulf-coast examples average about two and a half 

 inches smaller than others from New England. Possessed of 

 spirit commensurate with its physical powers, it preys upon game 

 little if any humbler than that of our more powerful Falcons. It 

 attacks and destroys hares, Grouse, Teal, and even the young of 

 larger Ducks, in the state in which they are known as « flappers,' 

 besides capturing the usual variety of smaller birds and quadrupeds. 

 It occasionally seizes upon reptiles, or picks up insects. In secur- 

 ing its prey, it gives chase openly, and dives down on its quarry 

 with almost incredible velocity." 



Gruber's Buzzard. (Onychotes gruberi) 



Fig. 14. 



This new species was first obtained by Mr. F. Gruber, procurator 

 of Woodward's Garden, San Francisco, California, between Vallejo 

 and Napa cities, on May 15th, 1867. Its habits were not reported. 



