72 
BURROWING OWL. 
which resembles that of the syllables /too, 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 en¬ 
tirely 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 inha¬ 
bited by the Owl, while the testimony of Vieillot is equally con¬ 
clusive, 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 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 dis¬ 
tinct though closely allied species, can only be determined by 
accurate comparisons.* When we consider the extraordinary 
habits attributed to all those, as well as their correspondence in 
form and colours noted in the several descriptions, we are strongly 
inclined to believe that they are all of the same species; neverthe¬ 
less, 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 no figure has hitherto been published, and 
* Should they prove to he different species, new appellations must be given; and, 
as that of Strix cunicularia will, by right of priority, be exclusively retained for the 
Coquimbo Owl, we would propose for the present bird the name of Strix hypugsea. 
