BURROWING OWL. 
33 
most barren spot for the place of his abode. However 
this may be accounted for, it at least affords an oppor- 
tunity of beholding the approach of his enemies, and 
allows him to seek, within the bosom of the earth, that 
security which he has neither strength nor arms to 
cotfimand. 
In all these prairie dog villages, the burrowing owl 
is seen moving briskly about, or else in small flocks 
scattered among the mounds, and, at a distance, it may 
be mistaken for the marmot itself, when sitting erect. 
They manifest but little timidity, and allow themselves 
to be approached sufficiently close for shooting ; but, if 
alarmed, some or all of them soar away, and settle down 
again at a short distance ; if farther 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 chan- 
nelled by the rains, while the neat and well preserved 
mansion of the marmot shewed 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 w r ell 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 
VOL. iv. c 2 
