Western Horned Owl 209 
Description.—Adult—General colour above mottled with black, 
dusky and white, with a varying amount of tawny intermixed ; ear- 
tufts large and conspicuous; tail and wing markings in more or less 
well-developed bands; below, a white patch on the throat, upper- 
breast irregularly blotched with black and tawny on white ; posteriorly 
white with narrow transverse bands of dusky, often, washed and tinged 
with tawny; legs white to pale tawny, hardly marked; facial disk 
yellowish bordered by black. The variation, in the amount of tawny 
and black is very considerable, but the bird is always less tawny than 
the eastern type ; iris yellow, bill and claws black. Length 21; wing 
14; tail8-5; culmen 8; tarsus 2-80. 
Some observers believe that two subspecies can be distinguished in 
Colorado. There is certainly a great deal of variation, in the plumage 
of individuals, but whether it is possible to discriminate two distinct 
forms seems very doubtful. Recently Aiken has received from the 
Fountain Valley a pair of Owls killed with one shot, so that they 
certainly appeared to be mated, These two individuals seem to 
represent the two extreme types of the tawny and dusky phases, as 
I prefer to regard them. 
Distribution.—Western North America, from British Columbia and 
Manitoba south to the Mexican tableland. 
In Colorado the Horned Owl is a fairly common, resident, breeding 
over nearly the whole of the State from the plains up to timber line, 
according to Drew, and wandering up to 13,000 feet in the fall; the 
highest definite record I have met with is 10,000 feet, in the Wet 
Mountains (Lowe), 
Other localities are: Near Denver, breeding (Rockwell, see Plate 6), 
El Paso co. (Aiken coll.) and Baca co., breeding (Warren), in the 
lains; Estes Park (Kellogg), Boulder co., breeding (Gale), Crested 
Butte (Warren) and Wagon Wheel Gap (Aiken coll.), in the mountains ; 
Mesa co. (Rockwell) and La Plata co. (Morrison), on the western slope. 
Habits.—This is the largest Owl found commonly in 
Colorado. It prefers wooded districts in the plains— 
chiefly the cotton-wood groves along the rivers; in the 
mountains, the thickets along the bottoms of the valleys. 
Each pair appears to have its own particular range, 
beyond which it seldom strays. It has a loud, guttural 
note, “ Whaugh-hoo-hoo.” It is destructive to game- 
birds and water-fowl, and also preys largely on rabbits 
and prairie-dogs, as well as the smaller rodants. In 
settled districts it often catches an unwary fowl. 
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