112 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Asio wilsonianus (Lesson) 

 Long-eared Owl 



Plate 53 



Otus wilsonianus Lesson. Traite d'Om. 1830. no 

 O t u s a m e r i c a n u s DeKay. Zool. N. Y. 1844. pt 2, p. 27, fig. 24 

 Asio wilsonianus. A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 3. 1910. p. 169. No. 366 

 dsio, Lat., a kind of homed owl; wilsonidnus, in honor of Alexander Wilson 



Description. Ear tufts conspicuous. Plumage finely mottled and bro- 

 kenly waved with dusky, grayish white, and buffy, the former predominat- 

 ing on the upper parts, and the buffy overlaid with the dusky and grayish; 

 wings and tail with dusky bars; obscurely defined blotches of dusky on 

 breast and stripes combined with obscure crossbars on the belly; facial 

 disks reddish broicn; legs bufiy; the whole plumage remarkably blended. 



Length 13-16 inches; extent 38-40; wing 11-12; tail 5.5-6.50; tarsus 

 1. 20-1. 40; whole culmen i. 



Distribution. The American Long-eared owl, closely related to the 

 Palearctic species Asio otus, inhabits the temperate portion of North 

 America from Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan to the tablelands of Mexico. 

 It is one of our strictly resident species, and is not very uncommon about 

 dense wooded swamps and hillsides in most parts of the State, but is 

 apparently uncommon in the Adirondack forests. Cedar and hemlock 

 swamps, pine woods and alder thickets are its favorite retreats. In such 

 localities it is frequently observed standing motionless in some evergreen 

 with its ear tufts raised and its feathers drawn close, looking like a weather- 

 worn stub or ragged piece of bark. At other times one is not aware of its 

 presence, until it is startled from its perch and retreats with silent wavering 

 flight, like a great Whippoorwill, to a remoter corner of the swamp. I am 

 not sure that I have ever heard the note of this owl, but Nuttall describes 

 it as a plaintive, hollow moaning, while others compare it to the barking 

 of young dogs or the noise made by kittens. 



This species nests in trees, usually in the deserted home of a crow, 

 hawk or squirrel, but rarely constructs its own nest, and lays from 3 to 

 7 white eggs which average about 1.62 by 1.28 inches in dimensions. The 

 time of nesting varies from March 3 1 when eggs have been found at Ossining 



