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STRIX CUNICULARIA. 
large as those of the dove. When the young are only 
covered with down, they frequently ascend to the 
entrance to enjoy the warmth of the sun, but, as soon 
as they are approached, they quickly retire into the 
burrow. 
The note of our bird is strikingly similar to the cry 
of the marmot, which sounds like cheh, cheh , pronounced 
several times in rapid succession ; and, were it not that 
the burrowing owls of the West Indies, where no 
marmots exist, utter the same sound, it might be inferred 
that the marmot was the unintentional tutor to the 
young owl : this cry is only uttered as the bird begins 
its flight. Vieillot states, that the burrowing owl 
inhabiting St Domingo sometimes alights on farm- 
houses at night, and produces a note which resembles 
that of the syllables hoo, hoo, oo, 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 slightest reason 
for believing that they preyed on the marmots, whose 
dwellings they invade. 
Throughout the region traversed by the American 
Expedition, the marmot was unquestionably the artificer 
of the burrow 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 village's is readily explained. 
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 determined by accurate 
