302 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 
a silent bird and the few notes heard are low-toned and rather pleasing 
than otherwise. One is a soft-toned ‘wee-hunk, wee-hunk,’ slowly and 
several times repeated—another is a low twittering, whistling note like 
‘dicky, dicky, dicky’ ” (Life Histories, I, 328). 
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 
BEar-tufts (feather-horns or plumicorns) very conspicuous, black or black and tawny, 
edged with whitish on inner margin; first primary emarginate on inner web near tip; 
facial disk rusty or buffy, lightest between eyes and bill, edged with black; upper parts 
mottled with brownish-black, buff and white; under parts buffy white, thickly and broadly 
streaked with dusky on the breast, spotted and barred (in ‘“‘herring-bone”’ pattern) on 
belly and sides with dusky and clear black; primaries heavily marked with blackish and 
buffy cross bars, the dark bars broadest; tail with six to ten narrow dusky cross bars, the 
spaces between being light grayish-brown on the upper surface, nearly white below; tarsi 
and toes pale buff, unmarked; bill blackish with lighter tip; iris dark yellow. 
Length 13 to 16 inches; wing 11.50 to 12; tail 6 to 6.20. (The larger measurements 
are those of the female.) 
Fig. 79. Long-eared Owls. About three weeks old. 
Photograph from life by Dr. Thomas H. Jackson. 
151. Short-eared Owl. Asio flammeus (Pont.). (367) 
Synonyms: Marsh Owl, Swamp Owl, Prairie Owl.—Strix flammea, Pont., 1763.— 
Strix accipitrina, Pall., 1771.—Strix brachyotus, Gmel., Wils., Aud.—Brachyotus palus- 
tris, Bonap., 1838.—Brachyotus palustris americanus, Bonap., 1849.—Otus (Brachyotus) 
brachyotus, B. B. & R., 1875.—Asio accipitrinus, A. O. U. Check-list, 1895. 
Plate XXIV. 
A medium sized owl, just about the size of the Crow, heavily streaked 
above and below with buffy white and dark brown, and with ear-tufts very 
inconspicuous, but to be found if carefully looked for. 
