R A P T R E S. 



Ill 



by the French voyagers. This cr}', in Patagonia, was found to pro- 

 ceed from an owl, so like that of the prairies of North America, that 

 we fear it is not possible to convince all our readers that they are 

 really distinct. 



" The Patagonian owl seldom or never alights on trees. It is only 

 found in the pampas, and there inhabits the holes of the armadillo. 

 Its food was found, by dissection of the birds we shot, to be insects 

 and lizards, both of which are abundant in that region. The most 

 perfect harmony seemed to exist between the owls and the armadilloes, 

 whose deserted holes only, we suppose, the former take possession of, 

 and there build their nests and raise their broods undisturbed. They 

 are found abroad during the day in the open pampas, under an un- 

 clouded san, and when, in the evening, we were watching for their 

 quadruped companions, which are much esteemed for the table, we 

 found that the owls had all retired to tbeir holes. We conclude, 

 therefore, that this species is strictly diurnal." 



8. Athene grallaria {Temminch). 



Strix grallaria, Temm. PI. Col. II, p. (liv. 25, about 1823), 



Temm. PI. Col. II, Plate CXLVI. 



A distinct species of Burrowing Owl, which, like that immediatelj^ 

 preceding, inhabits the countries of Western South America. Mr. 

 Peale says of this bird : 



" These birds were seen frequently in the vicinity of Callao, Peru, 

 and, we think, offer sufiicient specific differences from those obtained 

 in Patagonia, in having shorter tails, longer tarsi, white spotted 

 plumage, and in having the outer tail-feathers brown, with bars of 

 pale tawny, instead of white with brown bars. In all cases where we 

 observed them, it appeared that they excavated their own holes, which 

 were, in almost every instance, in the sides of mounds formed by the 

 crumbling remains of the ancient Inca temples, or dwellings. Around 

 the entrances, were seen numerous fragments of Grylli and coleopte- 

 rous insects, and in the stomachs of those killed, were found similar 

 fragments, but none of birds or mice." 



