Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/769

 OWL 755 is specially liable to the attacks of diurnal birds, which have a natural antipathy to the whole family ; its flesh is sometimes exposed for sale in the markets of New Orleans, and is consid- ered palatable by the negroes. The hooting or tawny owl of Europe (S. aluco. Linn.) is about 15 in. long and 34 in alar extent ; the upper parts are brownish red, tinged with gray, with longitudinal dark brown streaks and trans- verse lighter lines, and lower parts reddish or yellowish white with similar markings ; large white spots on wing coverts ; its cry is very doleful, like " hoo, hoo, hoo," or the howling of a wolf ; it is strictly nocturnal, inhabiting thick woods, preying on the usual animals and birds, and sometimes seizing fish in the water. In the genus nyctale (Brehm) the size is small, with very small ear tufts, facial disk nearly perfect, wings long, tail short, and legs and toes densely feathered. Here belongs the little Acadian owl or saw-whet (N. Acadica, Bonap.), about 8 in. long and 18 in alar extent; the upper parts are olivaceous brown, the back of neck, rump, and scapulars spotted with white ; face and under parts ashy white, the latter with pale brown streaks ; quills and tail brown, spot- ted with white ; bill and claws dark. This is the smallest owl found in the eastern and mid- dle states, and probably occurs over the whole of temperate North America. This lively and handsome owl is called " saw- whet," as its love notes much resemble the noise made by filing the teeth of a saw, often leading the inexpe- rienced traveller to expect to find a sheltering saw mill in the depths of the forest ; it is some- times also called screech owl in the middle states ; it is not unf requently caught in large cities, and is nocturnal in its habits ; its usual cry resembles that of the little horned owl of Europe. The fourth subfamily, Athenince or American Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia). bird owls, are small, with very imperfect facial disk, head without ear tufts, and tarsi thinly covered with feathers ; rather diurnal in habit. The genus Athene (Boie) or speotyto (Glog.) has rather long wings, short bill and tail, long tarsi, and naked toes, and contains the burrow- ing owls. The American burrowing owls, A. (S.) cunicularia and A. (S.) hypogcea (Bonap.), occupy respectively the country west of the Rocky mountains and that portion between these and the Mississippi river; the former may be distinguished from the latter by its rather larger size and the feathering of the tar- sus uninterrupted to the toes ; the plumage is light ashy brown above, with numerous large white spots; breast light brown, white-spot- ted; abdomen yellowish white with brown spots ; the length is from 9 to 10 in. They are found in considerable numbers on the plains in the Rocky mountains, inhabiting the burrows of the prairie squirrels and other rodents, to which they flee when alarmed, and in which they live and bring up their young ; they are strictly diurnal, and feed on grass- hoppers, crickets, and field mice ; in other parts of the world they dig their own bur- rows. There are several species in India, where they sometimes make loud and continual noises. Snowy Owl (Nyctea nivea). The fifth subfamily is the nycteinina or day owls, characterized by compact form, moder- ate head without tufts, rather long wings and tail, and strong and densely plumed tarsi ; it embraces only two genera, each with a single species, inhabiting the arctic regions of ^ both hemispheres, migrating southward in winter. In the genus nyctea (Steph.) the size is large, the head has no facial disk, and the legs and bill are rather short. The snowy owl (N. nwea) is from 21 to 27 in. long, with an alar ex- tent of 4^ to 5^ ft., and a weight of 4 to 5 Ibs., according to sex; the general color is white, with the upper part of head and back with lunated dark brown spots, and the breast, sides, and thigh coverts with curved lines, of the same; wings and their coverts and tail barred with oblong brown spots ; some speci- mens, probably old birds, are almost entirely white. It is found in the northern regions of