BURROWING OWL. 225 
disturbed, their flight is continued until they are no longer in 
view, or they descend into their dwellings, whence they are 
difficult to dislodge. 
The burrows into which these owls have been seen to descend, 
on the plains of the river Platte, where they are most numerous, 
were evidently excavated by the marmot ; whence it has been 
inferred by Say, that they were either common though unfriendly 
residents of the same habitation, or that our owl was the sole 
occupant of a burrow acquired by the right of conquest. The 
evidence of this was clearly presented by the ruinous condition 
of the burrows tenanted by the owl, which were frequently 
caved in, and their sides channelled by the rains, while the 
neat and well-preserved mansion of the marmot showed the 
active care of a skilful and industrious owner. We have no 
evidence that the owl and marmot habitually resort to one 
burrow, yet we are well assured by Pike and others that a 
common danger often drives them into the same excavation, 
where lizards and rattlesnakes also enter for concealment and 
safety. 
The owl observed by Vieillot in St Domingo digs itself a 
burrow two feet in depth, at the bottom of which its eggs are 
deposited on a bed of moss, herb stalks, and dried roots. These 
eggs are two in number, of a very pure white, nearly spheroidal, 
and about as large as those of the dove. When the young are 
only covered with down, they frequently ascend to the entrance 
to enjoy the warmth of the sun, but as soon as they are 
approached, they quickly retire into the burrow. 
The note of our bird is strikingly similar to the ery of the 
marmot, which sounds like cheh, cheh, pronounced several 
times in rapid succession ; and were it not that the burrowing 
owls of the West Indies, where no marmots exist, utter the 
same sound, it might be inferred that the marmot was the 
unintentional tutor to the young owl: this cry is only uttered 
as the bird begins its flight. Vieillot states that the burrowing 
owl inhabiting St Domingo sometimes alights on farmhouses 
at night, and produces a note which resembles that of the syl- 
VOL, III, P 
