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shore of San Pablo Bay. The same fact has been noted by Mr. Dall, in the case of Brachyotus 

 ■palustris, in the Aleutian Islands ; so that our Burrowing Owl is not the only species that lives 

 in holes in the ground. In the Atlantic States the Barn-Owl is not abundant north of the 

 Carolinas ; I found it on the coast of North Carolina, in the salt marshes. It occurs, however, 

 regularly, if rarely, in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Dr. Turnbull observes : — 

 ' Not rare, and more frequent in spring and autumn. Its nest is generally found in a hollow 

 tree, near marshy meadows.' Its occurrence in New England must be regarded as exceptional ; 

 and it has not been observed in that section further north than Massachusetts. In 1843 (Am. 

 Journ. xliv. 253), the Rev. J. H. Linsley reported the capture of a specimen at Stratford, Conn. 

 According to Mr. Allen, as above quoted, Dr. Wood took one at Sachem's Head, Connecticut, 

 October 28th, 1865. The first specimen known from Massachusetts was procured near Spring- 

 field, in May 1866, as stated in my paper above quoted; another was shot near Lynn, in the 

 the same State, in 1863, as recorded by Mr. Allen." 



I obtained this Owl in Texas ; and it is a tolerably common species on the Lower Bio Grande. 

 It is also found in most parts of Mexico, in Costa Bica, Guatemala, Veragua, New Granada, 

 Ecuador, Guiana, Brazil, La Plata, Chili, Peru, and the Galapagos Islands, and in the West 

 Indies, in Cuba, Jamaica, and St. Domingo. 



In concluding my remarks on the geographical distribution of this species, I may call 

 attention to an excellent paper by Mr. R. B. Sharpe on the geographical distribution of the 

 Barn-Owls (in Rowley's Orn. Misc. i. pp. 269-298, and ii. pp. 1-21), which contains very 

 detailed descriptions of the various geographical races, and the fullest particulars respecting 

 their range. 



In habits the Bam-Owl is strictly nocturnal; for during the daytime it remains hidden 

 away, sleeping in some dark corner or dense thicket, most frequently in an old ruin or a building 

 where it is not likely to be disturbed, and less often in the hollow of a tree. So soon as the 

 dusk of the evening sets in it begins to rouse up, and leaves its snug hiding-place to hunt after 

 food, and is on the move, especially when the moon shines, until the day begins to break. It is 

 fond of inhabited places ; and so far from shunning the abode of man, it prefers the vicinity of 

 houses when undisturbed and not subject to persecution. Its food consists of mice, rats, moles, 

 large insects, and small birds, but more especially of various species of mice ; and, owing to the 

 large number it devours, it is deserving not only of toleration but of protection on the part of 

 agriculturists, whose fields it often rids of these small pests. When in search of food, it quarters 

 the ground most carefully, every now and again dropping down to pick up a mouse, or occa- 

 sionally an insect. Small birds it takes from the roost ; and it is said to kill cage-birds if left out 

 during the night. It frequently inhabits dovecotes, and lives in apparent good fellowship with 

 the pigeons. It has been accused, though wrongfully, of eating the young pigeons and sucking 

 the eggs ; for the best observers have never discovered any signs of the truth of this accusation, 

 and, indeed, it is extremely improbable that it ever should suck eggs. Mr. Sachse informs me 

 that, at a paper-mill near his place in Rhenish Prussia, as many as five Barn-Owls used to 

 frequent an old dovecote and make use of it more especially as a storehouse for any mice they 

 caught beyond what were required for immediate consumption ; and once when he examined the 

 dovecote he found six freshly killed mice neatly laid in a row close to the entrance-hole. 



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