310 MOTTLED OWL. 



extent ; the upper part of the head, the back, ears, and lesser 

 wing-coverts, are dark brown, streaked and variegated with 

 black, pale brown, and ash ; wings, lighter; the greater coverts 

 and primaries, spotted with white ; tail, short, even, and 

 mottled with black, pale brown, and whitish, on a dark brown 

 ground ; its lower side, grey ; horns (as they are usually 

 called), very prominent, each composed of ten feathers, in- 

 creasing in length from the front backwards, and lightest on 

 the inside; face, whitish, marked with small touches of dusky, 

 and bounded on each side with a circlet of black ; breast and 

 belly, white, beautifully variegated with ragged streaks of 

 black, and small transverse touches of brown ; legs, feathered 

 nearly to the claws, with a kind of hairy down, of a pale 

 brown colour ; vent and under tail-coverts, white, the latter 

 slightly marked with brown ; iris of the eye, a brilliant golden 

 yellow ; bill and claws, bluish horn colour. 



This was a female. The male is considerably less in size ; 

 the general colours darker; and the white on the wing-coverts 

 not so observable. 



Hollow trees, either in the woods or orchard, or close 

 evergreens in retired situations, are the usual roosting places 

 of this and most of our other species. These retreats, how- 

 ever, are frequently discovered by the nuthatch, titmouse, or 

 blue jay, who instantly raise the alarm ; a promiscuous group 

 of feathered neighbours soon collect round the spot, like crowds 

 in the streets of a large city when a thief or murderer is 

 detected ; and, by their insults and vociferation, oblige 

 the recluse to seek for another lodging elsewhere. This 

 may account for the circumstance of sometimes finding 

 them abroad during the day, on fences and other exposed 

 situations. 



