Rocky Mountains. 37 



St. Domingo, agreeably to the accounts of Molina and Viel- 

 lot, digs large burrows for its habitation and for the purposes 

 of incubation; the former author gives us to understand that 

 the burrow penetrates the earth to a considerable depth, whilst 

 Viellot informs us, that in St. Domingo the depth is about 

 two feet. 



With us the owl never occurred but in the prairie-dog villa- 

 ges, sometimes in a small flock, much scattered and often perch- 

 ed on different hillocks, at a distance, deceiving the eye with 

 the appearance of the prairie dog itself, in an erect posture. 

 They are not shy, but readily admit the hunter within gun- 

 shot, but on his too near approach, a part or the whole of 

 them rise upon the wing, uttering a note very like that of the 

 prairie dog, and alight at a short distance, or continue their 

 flight beyond the view. 



The burrows, into which we have seen the owl descend, 

 resembled in all respects those of the prairie dog, leading us 

 to suppose either that they were common, though, perhaps, 

 not friendly occupants of the same burrow, or that the owl 

 was the exclusive tenant of a burrow gained by the right of 

 conquest. But it is at the same time probable, that, as in 

 Chili, the owl may excavate his own tenement. 



From the remarkable coincidence of note, between these 

 two widely distinct animals, we might take occasion to re- 

 mark, the probability of the prairie dog being an uninten- 

 tional tutor to the young owl, did we not know that this bird 

 utters the same sounds in the West Indies, where the prai- 

 rie dog is not known to exist. 



It may be, that more than a single species of diurnal owl 

 has been confounded under the name of cunicularia, as Viel- 

 lot states his bird to be somewhat different from that of Mo- 

 lina, and we cannot but observe that the eggs of the birds 

 described by the latter are spotted with yellow, whilst those 

 of the former are immaculate. 



As our specimens do not in all respects correspond with 



