SHADOWY BIRDS OF THE NIGHT 



223 



Photograph by Guy A. Bailej' 

 SILENTLY AWAITING NIGHTFALL — AND A MEAL OF MICE 



Daylight finds most owls hidden from sight in dark places — hollows of trees, old woodpecker 

 nests, and other crevices and recesses. This long-eared owl, though resting in an open nest, is 

 sheltered from intense light by thick pine foliage. 



my missing traps scattered about it. Evi- 

 dently the parent owls were not averse to 

 assistance in securing food for a large and 

 constantly hungry family, and as fast as 

 mice were caught they were carried away, 

 traps included, to the nest, where the mice 

 were eaten and the traps discarded. 



The notes of the long-eared owl include 

 a low, hooting call, peculiar whining notes, 

 and twittering, whistling sounds. They are 

 less commonly heard than the calls of the 

 larger owls. 



The long-eared owl nests from central 

 British Columbia and southern Quebec to 

 southern California and Virginia. In win- 

 ter it ranges south to southern Florida and 

 central Mexico. Closely allied forms are 

 found in Europe, northern Asia, and North 

 Africa. 



Short-Eared Owl 



(Asia flammeus flammeus) 



While most owls are inhabitants of wood- 

 lands, the short-eared owl ranges in open 

 country in marshes, prairies, and meadows, 

 where it rests on the ground or on clumps of 

 low vegetation. Walk through its haunts 

 and it rises suddenly, often at a distance of 

 forty or fifty yards, and flies rapidly away, 

 turning its head back over its shoulder to 

 see what has startled it. Sometimes it 

 perches for a moment on a post or low 

 bush. Then its head appears completely 

 round, the tufts of feathers that compose 

 the "horns" being so short as to be seen 

 only near at hand. More often it drops 

 back to the ground, where it is hidden from 

 sight by grass or rushes (see page 225). 



