84 



RED OWL. 



the day, can form but an imperfect idea of its activity and even 

 sprightliness in its proper season of exercise. Throughout the day 

 it was all stillness and gravity ; its eyelids half shut, its neck con- 

 tracted, and its head shrunk seemingly into its body; but scarcely 

 was the sun set, and twilight began to approach, when its eyes be- 

 came full and sparkling, like two living globes of fire; it crouched 

 on its perch, reconnoitred every object around with looks of eager 

 fierceness; alighted and fed; stood on the meat with clenched ta- 

 lons, while it tore it in morsels with its bill; flew round the room 

 with the silence of thought, and perching, moaned out its melan- 

 choly notes with many lively gesticulations, not at all accordant 

 with the pitifal tone of its ditty, which reminded one of the shiver- 

 ing moanings of a half frozen puppy. 



This species is found generally over the United States, and is 

 not migratory. 



The Red Owl is eight inches and a half long, and twenty-one 

 inches in extent ; general color of the plumage above a bright nut 

 brown or tawny red; the shafts black; exterior edges of the outer 

 row of scapulars white ; bastard wing, the five first primaries, and 

 three or four of the first greater coverts also spotted with white; 

 whole wing quills spotted with dusky on their exterior webs; tail 

 rounded, transversely barred with dusky and pale brown; chin, 

 breast, and sides bright reddish brown, streaked laterally with 

 black, intermixed with white; belly and vent white, spotted with 

 bright brown; legs covered to the claws with pale brown hairy 

 down; extremities of the toes and claws pale bluish, ending in 

 black; bill a pale bluish horn color; eyes vivid yellow; inner an- 

 gles of the eyes, eye-brows, and space surrounding the bill whitish; 

 rest of the face nut brown ; head horned or eared, each consisting 

 of nine or ten feathers of a tawny red, shafted with black. 



