198 Birds of Colorado 
white ; ear-tufts long, over an inch, and conspicuous; quills barred 
brown and mottled grey, which becomes tawny basally; tail also 
barred ; below confusedly marked with brown, white and tawny with 
irregular streaks and bars; almost plain tawny on the feet and under 
tail-coverts ; iris yellow, bill and claws blackish. Length 13-5; wing 
11-5; tail 6-0; culmen 1-0; tarsus 1-5. Variable in size, but the female 
averages a little larger. 
Distribution.—North America from Hudson Bay and Mackenzie 
south over the whole of the United States to the Mexican tableland. 
The Long-eared Owl is one of the commonest resident Owls in Colorado, 
breeding from the plains up to about 10,000 or 11,000 feet, and winter- 
ing also in the plains and mountains. It has been reported from Weld 
co. (Dille) to Baca co. (Warren) in the eastern plains; from the 
mountains of Boulder co. (Gale) to the San Luis Valley (Baird & 
Warren) in the mountains and parks, and from Mesa co. (Rockwell) 
to La Plata co. (Morrison) on the western slope, and probably breeds 
throughout. 
Habits.—The Long-eared Owl is a thoroughly nocturnal 
species, hunting only at night and keeping quiet in 
retired nooks by day, so that it is seldom noticed. Its 
food consists almost entirely of small rodents, chiefly 
field-mice, and it is a most beneficial species and should 
never be destroyed. It is rather silent for an Owl, but 
has a gentle hoot in the spring time ; if disturbed when 
nesting it generally makes a chattering, snapping noise 
with its mandibles, and it also gives a mournful cry. 
Its favourite resort in Colorado is in the thickets of 
willows along the creek bottoms. 
Morrison, Dille (86) and Gale give good accounts of 
the nesting-habits. It seldom builds a nest for itself, 
generally using in Colorado an old Magpie’s nest, tearing 
off the dome and adding a little grass and feathers for 
a lining. It also makes use of Crows’ or Hawks’ nests, 
and occasionally builds one for itself. The eggs are laid 
from about April 15th to May 15th. Fresh eggs found 
later than this are a second laying, due to the loss of 
the first. Morrison noticed that four to six eggs were 
the rule at low elevations, three at about 8,500 feet, 
