BURROWING OWL.
G & T .£ /J r fk fN IC U L J l I l I J l . _
Plate VII. Fig., 2.
Strix eunicularia, M olina. Hist. Chili, (Am. ed.) I, p. 184. G m e l . Syst. I , p. 292, Sp.
.28..-,; L ath. Ind. p,)(!l,;Spj3,8. Vie e l l . ,Oig. de, V Am. Sept. J,i p. 4 8.,, Sat, in Long's
Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, II, p. 36 and 2Q0. .
Uhda eunicularia, I ^ ehClee, •Twirn. Obs. Phys. p. 562. ,
Noctua coquimbana, Briss. Av. I, p.RpjfjfSp. I'l.
Coquimbo Owl, L ath. Syn. I ”p'. 145|,SptKj-3i''*
Philadelphia Museum, NO.A72.
V enerable ruins, crumbling under,the influence of, time andtwisg
situdes of .reason, are habitually associated with our. recollections, of
the Owlj or hejis considered as tlic tenant of sombre &r.o<CV»'idi*
nocturnal glooin_is rendered deeper- and,pnore. awful by;tfe^harsh
dissonance of his voice. In poetry he has long been regarded asvffijsE
appropriate cqncomifant of darkness and horror; and, when heard
screaming from the topmost fragments of some mouldering wall,
whose ruggedness is but slightly softened by the mellowing moonlight,
imagination loves to view him as a malignant spirit, hooting
triumphantly,cyefethe surrounding desolation! But we are now to
make the reader acquainted with an Owl to which none. £df" these
associations can belong; a bird, that, so far from seeking refuge in
the ruined habitations of man, fixes its residence within the earth;
and, instead of concealing itself in solitary recesses of the forest, delights
to dwell on open plains, in company with animals remarkable
for their social disposrabn, neatness, and order. Instead of sailing
heavily forth in the obscurity of the evening or morning twilight,
and tben retreating to mope away-the intervening hours, our Owl
Mike’ broadest •glareC ofiiltmwaoon-day sun, and flying rapidly
along,Tsean hesMoi- ionfflre'jmaMire cmraffg the cheerftd light of day.
The vofaries>df nStur dragwift ennuri alya\ ->?iteel indebted to the
learned, and l|ïfflp ^ .^ ^ » ^ .y y 'f^ ^ ^ f^ ^ ^® lle c tio n of facts he has
tóadejKanjrm^Sgl opportunities 'haveUBéen. presented, but more espê-
ciallyain^tiieVinstahewfl» tbS^Ce^. singular- bird, iv^hose places"; of
résort^m thisrcbumi^ to allow many the pleasure
OTi^xamining^ fór"themselvë^^\V”.fi^dmioimdi-.poved®; rejoice'
that the ’materials for ^th«Mstory ‘ of our bi^d, are drawn from his
a ^iple jpi^ s both qf their intrinsic^ p Eferee.'. and because
it affords'®/'an opportunity ofilËvificing^our admiration of the
^ a l; talents, and integrity, whicb**have»hhised this man to the most
honourable and^ënviaUlc euynèuee^ïa naturalist.
In the.iJt^anscMissis^pjpiai^'t©?^bTm^omfB^pU>nited States, , the
Burrowing Owl resides e^Mitsively-inthe villages of-the Marmot, otf
Prairie' Dog,^K^^ecoavations are sofSlmmnthotisp'as- tb redder it
unnecessary that^burimrd'should dig for himself, a‘sTïe*sulaid-to do in
öthéripartsf'ófi the world, whjejrei nó''bulrowihg animals exist. These
villages are ■veh^:h|im®dns|tand variable in their extent, • sometimes
covering only adeiv abr'es, dnd at others Spreading överimè surface
fS| thetcofehtfylflbrl*nlilès' to g eth e r' "‘They are composed of slightly
elevated» niöunds, having the* forih; of a truncated•* code, about two
ftet; in width atibase, and-^Mom^.inljSiil^ as high af^dgllobh inches
above the surface of the soil, i Thl^entrance' is; plabecLetther at the
toji or ■ on the side1,) andsthe* whole' mound j is b'éatëri down externally,
especially at the summit, resembling at'mtich^used foot-path.
FroM'T^e^ehtrarifcte, the passage into the ‘mound descends vertically
for 'öhëfipr,' two1 feet, and ^^heficêjf continued obliquely downwards,
until.it terminates in an’ apartment, within which the industrious
Marmot constructs; on the approach of the cold.season, the comfortable.
cell for his winter’s 'sfëèpfb* This '<?ell, which is composed of fine
dry'grass, *i§: globular, in form,With ’an opening'at top capable of