OF THE UNITED STATES 247 



But the Burrowing Owls of the western plains and southern 

 Florida (Speotyto cunicularia hypogma and 8. c. floridana) are 

 probably the greatest enemies that the rodents of the region in 

 which they live have among all the birds of this family. In fact 

 the Burrowing Owl of the west actually takes up its cam]) direct- 

 ly upon the ground where its principal prey lives in communities, 

 and it, with its voracious young, absolutely kill and consume 

 thousands of various species of terrestrial squirrels every year, 

 such as prairie dogs, spermophiles, and chipmunks, to say noth- 

 ing about the gophers, mice, snakes, the destructive black crick- 

 ets, and many other kinds that constitute their prey. Bendire, 

 who, in my opinion, has written the best account of the life his- 

 tory of this owl now extant, has proved that each individual 

 bird will eat fully its own weight, or more, in food of the above 

 character every twenty-four hours, and his work upon the birds 

 of this genus will have more to do with contradicting the ridic- 

 ulous stories about the happy and harmonious living together 

 of rattlesnakes, prairie dogs, and owls in the burrows of the dogs, 

 than anything that has appeared in print. During the time T was 

 collecting my material in the west for a complete account of the 

 anatomy of this owl, I had abundant opportunity for over five 

 years to study 8peotj/fn every day, and I can attest to the excel- 

 lence of his work and the truthfulness of his statements. 



Passing to the Screech Owls of the genus Mefiascops we find 

 them represented by no less than two species and nine sub- 

 species, with the group through these occurring in suitable lo- 

 calities in every part of North America. These owls are so well 

 known in nearly all particulars to those who take any interest 

 in birds whatever, that descriptions here would be quite super- 

 fluous. What the ornithologist still demands fuller information 

 about however, is the cause of the distinct variation in the plum- 

 age of the members of this genus. There are two well-marked 

 phases of this, the rufous and the gray, and it is not at present 

 understood to what these differences are due. Hence Screech 

 Owls are likewise called Mottled, Bed, or Gray Owls, depending 

 upon the phase of plumage they happen to be in at the time. 

 The very young nestlings are white, resembling little puff-balls 

 of down. Speaking of Screech owls reminds me of a curious 

 incident in regard to one of them that occurred within my own 

 personal experience. At the time referred to, I was not more 

 than fourteen or fifteen years of age, and my entire spare time 



