THE VIRGINIAN EARED OWL. 263 
and this strange society is said also to be augmented by a third member, 
namely, the rattlesnake. It is now, however, ascertained with tolerable 
accuracy that the rattlesnake is nothing but a very unwelcome intruder upon 
the marmot, and, as has been shown by the Hon. G. F. Berkeley’s experi- 
ments, is liable to be attacked and destroyed by the legal owner of the 
burrow. If all had their rights, it would seem that the Owl is nearly as 
much an intruder as the snake, and that it only takes possession of the 
burrow excavated by the prairie 
dog in order to save itself the 
trouble of making a subterranean 
abode for itself. Indeed, there 
are some parts of the country 
where the Owl is perforce obliged 
to be its own workman, and, in 
default of convenient “dog” bur- 
rows, is fain to employ its claws 
and bill in excavating a home for 
itself. 
The tunnel which is made by 
the Owl is not nearly so deep or 
so neatly constructed as that which 
is dug by the marmot, being only 
eighteen inches or two feet in 
depth, and very rough in the inte- 
rior, At the bottom of this bur- 
row is placed a tolerably seized 
heap of dried grass, moss, leaves, 
and other soft substances, upon 
which are deposited its white- 
shelled eggs. 
The Coquimbo Owl is by no 
-Means a nocturnal bird, facing 
the giare of the mid-day sun with- 
out inconvenience, and standing 
at all times in the day or evening 
on the little heaps of earth which ~ 
are thrown up at the entrance of 
the burrow. It is a lively little 
bird, moving about among the 
burrows with considerable viva- 2 
city, rising on the wing if sud- 
-denly disturbed, and making a 
short undulating aérial journey 
before it again settles upon the 
ground. When it has alighted NaS Pe SSS, 
from one of these little flights it & RG27Z Ea 
turns round and earnestly regards 2 
the pursuer. Sometimes it will 
dive into one of the burrows, heed- 
less of prior occupants, and thus it is that marmot, owl, and snake come 
to be found in the same burrow. 
The colour of the Burrowing Owl is a rather rich brown upon the upper 
parts of the body, diversified with a number of small grey-white spots, and 
altogether darker upon the upper surface of the wings. The under parts are 
greyish white. The length of the bird is not quite eleven inches, The cry 
oS 
VIRGINIAN EARED-OWL.—(Ludbo Virginianus.) 
