THE LITTLE OWL-— THE COQUIMBO OWL. 237 



Ducks quak'd, Ganders hiss'd, and Geese cackled aloud ; 

 Many Rooks, and some Crows, too, were heard 'midst 



the crowd. 

 The Peacock, too, scream'd — his harsh notes ever 



shock; — 

 Of his crowing, seem'd wondrously proud, too, the Cock, 

 The Dove's gentle cooing was heard in the wood ; 

 The Daw was desirous to sing if he could. 

 "Chink, Chink, ,} cried the Chaffinch', the Owl gave- 



a shriek; 

 And the Jay and the Magpie attempted to speak. 



which it can erect at pleasure; the neck, back, and scapulars, 

 are dusky, bordered with ferruginous, breast and belly whitish, 

 streaked with dusky. Arrives in this country in October, and 

 departs in March ; hence, from its arriving at the same time as 

 the Woodcock, one of its names. Supposed to breed in the 

 Orkneys, Norway, and Hudson's Bay. It never perches on 

 trees in this country, but hides itself in long grass or fern. 



The Scops, orLiTTi.E-HORNEDOwL,and the Pusserina, or Lit- 

 tle-Owl, may also be mentioned ; the last is an elegant bird, 

 the smallest of the tribe found in England ; size of a blackbird ; 

 the head and upper parts are brown, tinged with olive ; the 

 former, and wing coverts, spotted with white. 



The foreign birds of this tribe are numerous, and of various 

 sizes. I cannot enumerate them. There is, however, in the 

 northern latitudes, a species common to the old and new world, 

 called the Nyctea by most ornithologists, which equals in size 

 the largest of the tribe, being two feet long, and having beau- 

 tiful plumage. 



The Cunicularia or Coqtjim bo Owl, is found in Chili; and 

 is said to dig holes in the ground for a nest for its young, and 

 for its own habitation. 



There is also a similar owl called the Burrowing-Owl, 

 found in various parts of the North American continent. In 



