BIRDS OF PBET. 



549 



mice and other small nocturnal animals, ejecting from the 

 month a ball of the indigestible portions of their meal. 

 The little burrowing owl of the western plains {Spheotyto 

 cuniciilaria, var. hypogma) consorts with the prairie dogs and 

 rattlesnakes, nesting in the holes when deserted. Their 

 rusty, dull hues assimilate them with the color of the soil 

 they inhabit. Our largest owl is the great gray owl {Syr- 

 nium cinereitm) ; it is nearly f metre {2| feet) in length, and 



Carolina Parroquet. — From Cones' Key. 



is an inhabitant of Arctic America. A Tisitor in winter 

 from the Arctic regions is the snowy owl [Nyctm nivea), 

 which is nearly f m., or two feet long. The great horned 

 owl {Buho Virginianus) is about the same size as the snowy 

 owl, bat has two conspicuous ear-tufts, adding to its height 

 and its general impressiveness as a bird of more than ordi- 

 nary sagacity. 



Of more intelligence and gifted with the power of speech 



