132 
THE BARRED OWL. 
undulated with darker; tail similarly barred ; ruff feathers white toward the 
end, dark brown in the centre; disks on their inner sides grey, with black 
tips, in the rest of their extent greyish-white, with six bars of blackish-brown 
very regularly disposed in a concentric manner; lower parts greyish-brown, 
variegated with greyish and yellowish-white ; feet barred with the same. 
Female, 30£, 48J. 
THE BAKKED OWL. 
Syrnium nebulosum, Linn. 
PLATE XXXVI.— Male. 
Should you, kind reader, visit the noble forests of the lower parts of the 
State of Louisiana, about the middle of October, when nature, on the eve 
of preparing for approaching night, permits useful dews to fall and rest on 
every plant, with the view of reviving its leaves, its fruits, or its lingering- 
blossoms ere the return of morn ; when every night-insect rises on buzzing- 
wings from the ground, and the fire-fly, amidst thousands of other species, 
appears as if purposely to guide their motions through the sombre atmo- 
sphere ; when numerous reptiles and quadrupeds commence their nocturnal 
prowlings, and the fair moon, empress of the night, rises peacefully on the 
distant horizon, shooting her silvery rays over the heavens and the earth, 
moving slowly and majestically along ; when the husbandman, just returned 
to 'his home, after the labours of the day, is receiving the cheering gratulations 
of his family, and the wholesome repast is about to be spread out ; — it is at 
this moment, kind reader, that your ear would suddenly be struck by the 
discordant screams of the. Barred Owl. Its whah, whah, whah, whah-aa is 
uttered loudly, and in so strange and ludicrous a manner, that I should not 
be surprised were you to compare these sounds to the affected bursts of 
laughter which you may have heard from some of the fashionable members 
of our own species. 
How often, when snugly settled under the boughs of my temporary 
encampment, and preparing to roast a venison steak or the body of a squirrel, 
have I been saluted with the exulting bursts of this nightly disturber of 
the peace, that, had it not been for him, would have prevailed around me, 
as well as in my lonely retreat ! How often have I seen this nocturnal 
marauder alight within a few yards of me, expose his whole body to the 
glare of my fire, and eye me in such a curious- manner, that, had it been 
