ON THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 



OF BARN-OWLS. 



By R. BOWDLER SHARPE, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c., 

 Zoological Department, British Museum. 



[Continued from vol. i. p. 298.] 



Nearctic Region. 



N. America. The following concise account of the range of the Barn~Owl 

 is taken from Dr. Coues's ^ Birds of the North-west': — 



" The American Barn-Owl is an abundant bird on both sides of the 

 continent^ south of a certain latitude. Unlike many of its relatives, warmly 

 clothed and of a hardy nature, withstanding great cold, it appears of rather 

 delicate and sensitive organization. In the Missouri region it has only 

 occurred, to my knowledge, in Kansas, where it breeds, though it is rarely 

 found, according to Prof. Snow. I ascertained its occurrence in Arizona; 

 once, wading through a reedy lagoon at midday I disturbed a Barn-Owl, 

 which rose silently and flapped along till 1 brought it down. It is a 

 common bird in California— apparently the most abundant species of its 

 family in the southern part of the State ; and, accoi-ding to Dr. Cooper, it 

 extends its range to the Columbia, in lat. 46°. Dr. Newberry observed an 

 interesting modification of its habits by circumstances which cause it to 

 inhabit holes in the perpendicular cliffs bordering the shore of San- Pablo 

 Bay. The same fact has been noted by Mr. Dall in the case of BracJiyotus 

 palustrisy in the Aleutian islands ; so that our Burrowing Owl is not the only 



