BURROWING OWL. 
329 
at night, and produces a note which resembles that of the syl- 
lables hoo^ lioo^ oe, oo ; but has he not mistaken a nocturnal 
species for it in this case ? 
The food of the bird we are describing, appears to consist 
entirely of insects, as, on examination of its stomach, nothing 
but parts of their hard wing-cases were found. The authors 
we have quoted, inform us, that, in Chili and St Domingo, the 
burrowing owls also feed on rats, mice, and reptiles, which we 
cannot suppose to be the case with the bird found in the 
United States, as our explorers never could discover the slight- 
est reason for believing that they preyed on the marmots, 
whose dwellings they invade. 
Throughout the region traversed by the American expedi- 
tion, the marmot was unquestionably the artificer of the bur- 
row inhabited by the owl, while the testimony of Vieillot is 
equally conclusive, that the owl digs for himself when he finds 
no burrow to suit his purpose ; but, preferring one already 
made, his fondness for the prairie dog villages is readily ex- 
plained. 
Whether only a single species of burrowing owl inhabits the 
vast continent of North and South America, or whether that 
of Chili mentioned by Molina, that of St Domingo described 
by Vieillot, and the owl of the Western American territory, 
be distinct though closely allied species, can only be deter- 
mined by accurate comparisons.* When we consider the ex- 
traordinary habits attributed to all those, as well as their cor- 
respondence in form and colours noted in the several descrip- 
tions, we are strongly inclined to believe that they are all of 
the same species ; nevertheless, Vieillot states his bird to be 
somewhat different from that of Molina, and the eggs of the 
burrowing owl of the latter are spotted with yellow, whilst 
those of the former are immaculate. We have to regret that 
* Should they prove to be different species, new appellations must he given ; 
and as that of Strix cunicularia will, by right of priority, be exclusively re- 
tained for the Coquimbo owl, we would propose for the present bird the name 
of Strix hypugcea. 
