98 LONG-EARED OWL. 



darkening towards the tips ; secondaries more finely barred, and 

 powdered with white and dusky ; tai> rounded at the end, of the same 

 length with the wings, beautifully barred and marbled with dull white 

 and pale rusty, on a dark brown ground ; throat and breast clouded 

 with rusty, cream, black and white; belly beautifully streaked with 

 large arrow-heads of black ; legs and thighs plain pale rusty, feathered 

 to the claws, which are blue black, large and sharp ; inside of the wing 

 brownish yellow, with a large spot of black at the root of the primaries. 



This was a female. Of the male I cannot speak precisely ; though 

 from the numbers of these birds which I have examined in the Autumn, 

 when it is difficult to ascertain their sex, I conjecture that they differ 

 very little in color. 



About six or seven miles below Philadelphia, and not far from the 

 Delaware, is a low swamp,* thickly covered with trees, and inundated 

 during great part of the year. This place is the resort of great 

 numbers of the Qua-bird, or Night Raven (Ardea nyeticorax), where 

 they build in large companies. On the twenty-fifth of April, while 

 wading among the dark recesses of this forest, observing the habits of 

 these birds, I discovered a Long-eared Owl, which had taken possession 

 of one of their nests, and was sitting ; on mounting to the nest, I found 

 it contained four eggs, and breaking one of these, the young appeared 

 almost ready to leave the shell. There were numbers of the Qua-birds' 

 nests on the adjoining trees all around, and one of them actually on 

 the same tree. Thus we see how unvarying are the manners of this 

 species, however remote and different the countries may be where it has 

 taken up its residence. 



* Commonly known by the name of Cocker's swamp, from time immemorial a 

 noted pi ice for the shooting of Woodcocks. 



