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Speotyto, “Gloger, 1842.” (Type, Strix cunicularia, Mol.)

“Pholeoptynx, Kaup, 1848.” (Same type.)

Gen. Char. Size small; head small, and without ear-tufts. Bill moderately strong, pale yellowish. Tarsi more than twice as long as the middle toe, feathered in front, naked behind; toes scantily haired. Tail short, less than half the wing, nearly even, or very slightly rounded. Three outer quills with their inner webs emarginated; second to fourth longest. Ear-conch very small, simple, roundish. Diurnal and terrestrial.

5896 ½ ½

Speotyto hypogæa.

This genus is peculiar to America, where it is distributed over the whole of the southern and the western half of the northern continent, as well as in some of the West India Islands. There appears to be but one well-characterized species,35 this one modified into representative races in the several geographical provinces over which it ranges. The species is terrestrial, inhabiting the abandoned burrows of Armadillos and Rodents. It is diurnal, possessing as much freedom of sight, hearing, and motion in the brightest sunlight, as any species of the Falconidæ.

Species and Races

S. cunicularia. Colors umber-brown and ochraceous-white, the former predominating above, the latter prevailing below. Upper parts spotted with whitish; lower parts transversely barred with brown on the breast and sides, and sometimes on the abdomen. A white gular patch, and jugular collar, with a brown band between them. Legs, crissum, anal and femoral regions, always immaculate.

A. Primaries with broad regular bars of ochraceous-white on both webs; primary coverts with large spots of the same.

Brown markings of the lower parts irregularly transverse, and ragged. White spots on the upper parts nearly equal in extent to the brown.

Wing, 6.15–6.40; tail, 2.90–3.60; culmen, .58–.62; tarsus, 1.50–1.80; middle toe, .65. Hab. Peru … var. grallaria.36

Brown markings on the lower parts regularly transverse, and not ragged. White spots on the upper parts much less than the brown in extent.

Wing, 7.00–7.50; tail, 3.30–4.00; culmen, .70; tarsus, 1.70–1.85; middle toe, .85. Outer tail-feathers and inner webs of primaries with the white much greater in amount than the brown (sometimes continuous along outer webs of the latter). Hab. Southern South America (Chile, Buenos Ayres, Paraguay, etc.) … var. cunicularia.37

Wing, 6.40–7.00; tail, 3.00–3.30; culmen, .50–.60; tarsus, 1.50–1.70; middle toe, .80. Outer tail-feathers and inner webs of the primaries with the white less in extent than the brown (never continuous along outer webs of the primaries). Hab. Middle America, and Western Province of North America … var. hypogæa.

B. Primaries without broad or regular bars of whitish on either web; primary coverts plain brown.

Brown markings on the lower parts regularly transverse, and equal in extent to the white. White spots on the upper parts very small, reduced to mere specks on the dorsal region.

Wing, 6.40; tail, 3.40; culmen, .60; tarsus, 1.82; middle toe, .85. Outer tail-feathers and inner webs of the primaries with the light (ochraceous) bars only about one fourth as wide as the brown (disappearing on the inner quills). Hab. Guadeloupe … var. guadeloupensis.38

Spheotyto cunicularia, var. hypogæa, Bonap

BURROWING OWL

Strix hypogæa, Bonap. Am. Orn. I, 72, 1825. Athene hypogæa, Bonap. Consp. Av. p. 39, 1850.—Woodh. (Sitgr.) Expl. Zuñi and Colorado, p. 62, 1853.—Cass. Birds N. Am. 1858, 59.—Newb. P. R. R. Rept. VI, 77, 1857.—Coop. & Suck. P. R. R. Rept. XII, ii, 157, 1860.—Gray, Hand List, I, 52, 1869. Speotyto cunicularia, var. hypogæa, (Ridgway) Coues, Key, 1872, 207. Strix cunicularia (not of Molina!), Aud. B. Am. pl. ccccxxxii, 1831; Orn. Biog. V, 264; Synop. p. 22.—Nutt. Man. Orn. p. 118, 1844.—Bonap. Am. Orn. p. 68, pl. vii, f. 2, 1825; Ann. Lyc. N. Y. II, 36.—James. (Wils.), Am. Orn. IV, 30.—Say, Long’s Exp. Rocky Mts., II, 36, 200. Ulula cunicularia, Jard. (Wils.) Am. Orn. III, 325, 1832. Athene cunicularia, Bonap. List, p. 6; Consp. Av. p. 38. Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 160, 1855.—Cassin, Birds N. Am. 1858, 60.—Coop. & Suck. P. R. R. Rept. XII, ii, 157, 1860.—Canfield, Am. Nat. 1869, 583 (habits). Strix californica, Aud. B. Am. pl. ccccxxxii, 1831. Athene socialis, Gamb. Pr. Acad. Nat. Sc. Phil. III, 47, 1846.

Sp. Char. Adult. Above earth-brown, the whole surface covered with numerous spots of dull white,—those on the scapulars roundish, and in pairs (on both webs); of similar form, but larger and more sparse, on the wings. Anteriorly they become more longitudinal (nearly linear), and medial; on the rump and upper tail-coverts, they are nearly obsolete. Secondaries crossed by four distinct bands of dull white, the last terminal; primaries with five to six transverse series of semi-rounded spots of ochraceous-white on their outer webs; primary coverts with about three transverse series of whitish spots. Tail with five to six bands of dull white, or pale ochraceous (the last terminal), composed of transverse oval spots, those on the middle pair of feathers not touching either the shaft or the edge. Ear-coverts uniform brown, becoming gradually paler beneath the eye and on the cheeks; eyebrows, a transverse chin-patch,—covering the whole chin and jaw and reaching back beneath the auriculars, and another across the jugulum, immaculate cottony-white; shafts of the loral bristles blackish; a broad, well-defined collar across the throat, between the white malar and jugular bands, deep brown, mixed with paler spots.

Beneath white with a faint ochraceous tinge, especially on the legs; the breast, abdomen, and sides with transverse spots of brown, this often predominating on the breast; legs, anal region, and crissum, immaculate. Whole lining of the wing immaculate creamy-white, the primary coverts, however, with large terminal spots of dusky; under surface of the primaries grayish-brown, deeper terminally, and with large, transversely ovate spots of ochraceous-white (about five in number on the longest quill), and growing larger basally.

♂. Wing, 6.40–7.00; tail, 3.00–3.30; culmen, .55–.60; tarsus, 1.50–1.70; middle toe, .80. (Smallest, No. 5,183, Fort Pierre, Nebraska; largest, No. 6,881, Sacramento, California.)

♀. Wing, 6.50–6.80; tail, 3.15–3.30; culmen, .51–.55; tarsus, 1.50–1.60; middle toe, .80. (Smallest, No. 45,020, Laredo, Texas; largest, No. 3,971, San José, Lower California.)

Juv. Upper surface earth-brown, as in the adult, but entirely uniform, except the wings and tail; upper tail-coverts, and a large oval patch on the wing (covering the middle coverts and the posterior half of the lesser-covert region), plain isabella-white; the anterior portion of the lesser-covert region darker brown than the back. Gular region well-defined pure white; jugular collar conspicuous and unspotted. Whole lower parts immaculate isabella-white.

Hab. Western Province of United States, from the Plains to the Pacific, and from the Rio Grande to Cape St. Lucas; Mexico.

Localities: Xalapa (Scl. 1857, 290); Texas (Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 330; resident).

Specimens never vary in the pattern of coloration, and but little in the relative amount of the brown and white spotting; the shade of the brown and the depth of the ochraceous tinge vary considerably, however, in different individuals,—but irrespective of locality,—the brown being paler and the white purer in summer than in fall and winter, after the new dress is freshly assumed. The brown on the breast varies considerably in quantity, being sometimes nearly uniform, thereby abruptly contrasting with the white jugular band, and again frequently with the brown hardly greater in amount than the white, the two colors being in regular bars, as on the sides and flanks.

There is certainly but one species, or even race, of Burrowing Owl in North America. This is represented in the Smithsonian collection by over fifty specimens, including examples from all parts of its range. Upon a close inspection of all the specimens in this extensive series, I was very much surprised to find so little variation; indeed, all the specimens are so much alike that a detailed description of the colors of one would answer for almost any individual. The shade of color varies mainly according to the age of the feathers, those newly acquired having a darkness of tint and a softness of texture not seen in those more worn (as in midsummer dress), which have a bleached or faded appearance. I fail entirely to detect the different styles of plumage which Mr. Cassin has described, and his diagnoses of two supposed species will not at all hold good when applied to specimens from either of the two regions which they were considered to characterize.

Examining critically the large series at my command, I find that the principal discrepancy among individuals is the amount of feathering on the tarsus; this extending to the toes was supposed to characterize the A. cunicularia of North America the habitat of which was considered as restricted in North America to the west of the Rocky Mountains (see Cassin, Birds of North America, as cited above); the nearly naked tarsus was believed to be characteristic of the A. hypogæa, as restricted, and the habitat assigned to this was “from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains.” Now, dividing the series under examination into two sets, according to this feature, we have, first, cunicularia from the following localities: from the Rio Grande, all specimens but one; Tongue River, Montana; and Petaluma, Santa Clara, and San Francisco, California. Next, hypogæa represents the following localities, besides places within the range ascribed to it: Utah; Lower California, including Cape St. Lucas, all specimens; San Diego, California, several specimens; Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Sacramento, and Fort Tejon, California; and Tamaulipas, Mexico.

Though we have but one species or form in North America, the South American bird is different: this is the true cunicularia of Molina, and though not specifically distinct from our bird, is nevertheless an easily recognized geographical race. It is larger, the wing measuring from 7.00 to 7.50, instead of 6.40 to 7.00; the brown of the plumage is appreciably darker than that of most specimens of hypogæa, but less extended; on the outer web of the primaries the white spots are larger,—sometimes confluent along the edge,—and on their inner webs the white largely prevails, the dusky bars appearing only towards the ends; the outer tail-feather is almost wholly white, instead of having brown bars, broader than the white ones. Of the var. cunicularia there are eight specimens in the collection (chiefly from Paraguay, Buenos Ayres, and Chile), while numerous others, in various collections, have been examined besides. All the American forms of this subgenus seem clearly referrible to one species, as being at the most but geographical races.

Habits. The Burrowing Owl of North America inhabits the country between the Pacific coast and the Mississippi River, especially in the lower plains in Nebraska and in Kansas, as well as in particular districts in Utah, Arkansas, New Mexico, the Indian Territory, Texas, Arizona, California, and Mexico. They are usually very abundant, congregating together in large communities, and differing from most members of their family by living and breeding in burrows in the ground. Their habits are peculiar and interesting.

Speotyto hypogæa.

Thomas Say, during Colonel Long’s expedition to the Rocky Mountains, was the first of American naturalists to meet with this bird. He encountered it in our trans-Mississippian Territories, where he described it as residing exclusively in the villages of the prairie-dog, whose excavations are so commodious as to make it unnecessary for the bird to dig for itself, which it is able to do when occasion requires. These villages are very numerous, and variable in their extent, sometimes covering only a few acres, and at others spreading over the surface of the country for miles together. They are composed of slightly elevated mounds, having the form of a truncated cone, about two feet in width at base, and seldom rising as high as eighteen inches above the surface. The entrance is at the top or on the side. From the entrance the passage descends vertically one or two feet, and thence it continues obliquely downward until it terminates in the snug apartment where these animals enjoy their winter’s sleep, and where they and the Owls are common, but unfriendly, occupants.

Mr. Dresser noticed this bird at all seasons, in the prairie country of Texas. They were rather common near the Rio Leon and Medina, and in one place he found they had taken possession of some deserted rat-holes. He obtained several specimens near San Antonio and at Eagle Pass. In the latter place he found them quite common on the sand plains near the town. The stomachs of those he shot were found to contain coleopterous insects and field-mice.

Dr. Newberry states that he found this species in Northern California, in several places between San Francisco and Fort Reading, and again at the Klamath Basin, though less frequently at the northward than in the Sacramento Valley. There they occupied the burrows made by the Beechey’s and the Douglass’s Spermophile. He usually saw them standing at the entrance to these burrows, often permitting him to approach within gun-shot, and before taking to flight twisting their heads about and bowing with many ludicrous gestures, apparently in order to aid their imperfect sight, and to get a better view of the intruder. When shot at or otherwise alarmed, they fly with an irregular jerking motion, dropping down much like a Woodcock.

Dr. Suckley obtained a specimen near Fort Benton, on the Upper Missouri, in Dakotah, and Dr. Cooper procured others thirty-five miles west of Fort Kearney, in Nebraska, in August. He saw them in great numbers on the plains of Nebraska, and did not observe any difference in habits between them and the birds of California.

This species was found in Texas, near Fort Davis, and also at El Paso, by Mr. J. H. Clark. It was taken in Tamaulipas, Mexico, by Lieutenant Couch. Mr. Clark remarks that they were seen by him only in the prairie-dog towns, and were found in conjunction with the rattlesnake, and accuses them of feeding upon the young of the prairie-dog; but this ungrateful requital of the hospitality given them in the burrows of this marmot is discredited by Dr. Kennerly and others, who regard the apparent harmony in which the two dwell together as altogether incompatible with this habit.

This species is also found on our Pacific coast, west of the Rocky Mountains, as far north as British Columbia. Mr. Lord met with it along the entire course of the boundary-line. It was not by any means plentiful, but pairs of them were occasionally seen. While in camp at the Dalles he dug out several squirrel-holes. In one he found two eggs of this species, the female bird, a racer-snake, and a female ground-squirrel (Spermophilus douglassi). The Owl he found to be strictly of diurnal habits, feeding principally on crickets, grasshoppers, large beetles, and larvæ. He thinks it never captures small animals or birds, and regards it as a peaceful and harmless bird.

Dr. Kennerly met with this species near Los Angeles, California. At any hour of the day they might be seen seated upon the mounds erected around the holes of the marmot, or else with head protruding from its orifice, disappearing immediately when approached. When molested, they commence bowing and chattering in a somewhat ludicrous manner at the intruder, or fly swiftly away, keeping near the earth and alighting suddenly in the vicinity of a burrow to renew these amusing motions. He found it very abundant in the valley of the San Gabriel River, where it associated with the large ground-squirrel of that region.

Dr. Heermann, who found them common on the extensive open prairies, speaks of its sight as very clear by day, and adds that it will not allow the hunter on foot to approach within shooting distance; but that, if approached on a horse or a mule, it may be easily shot. The nests he found were formed of a few straws carelessly thrown together at the bottom of its tortuous burrow, which is from six to eight feet in length. The eggs were usually four in number, and are described as nearly spherical, and as pure white.

Dr. Townsend states that this Owl resorts to the forsaken burrows of marmots and badgers, but never lives on terms of intimacy with either. The nest he describes as of fine grass, and placed at the extremity of the hole. The eggs are uniformly four in number, pale white, and about the size of those of the common House Pigeon.

Dr. Gambel, who observed this bird in California, states that he has occasionally found it in solitary burrows, and also that it often makes use of the holes dug by the Spermophilus beecheyi. They occasionally dig their own burrows, and live in scattered companies of four or five. Dr. Gambel also states that the bird is a resident of California throughout the year.

Mr. Darwin, in the Zoölogy of the Beagle, met with the var. cunicularia in crossing the pampas of South America. In Banda Oriental, he says, it is its own workman, and excavates its burrows on any level spot of sandy soil; but in the pampas, or wherever the Bizcacha is found, it uses those made by that animal. It usually preys on mice and reptiles. Lieutenant Gilliss gives a similar account of it, from observations made in Chile.

Mr. Nathaniel H. Bishop met with cunicularia on the banks of the river San Juan, in Banda Oriental, where a few pairs were seen, devouring mice and insects. After crossing the river Las Vacas, and coming upon a sandy waste covered with scattered trees and low bushes, he again encountered it. Upon the pampas of the Argentine Republic they were found in great numbers, from a few miles west of Rosario to the vicinity of San Luis, where the pampas end. On these immense plains of grass it lives in company with the Bizcacha (Lagostomus trichodactylus), dwelling with it in perfect harmony, and during the day, while the animal is sleeping, a pair of Owls stand a few inches within the main entrance of the burrow, and at the first sound, be it near or distant, leave their station and remain outside the hole, or upon the mound that forms the roof of their domicile. At the approach of man, both birds, with their irides dilated, mount above him in the air, and keep up an alarm-note until he passes. Then they quietly settle down in the grass, or return to their former place. On the pampas Mr. Bishop did not observe them taking their prey during the daytime, but as soon as the sun had set, the Bizcacha and Owls both leave their holes in search of food, the young of the former playing about the birds as they alight near them. They do not associate in companies, there being but one pair to a hole. Each couple keep separate from their neighbors, and at night do not stray from their homes.

It is both diurnal and nocturnal, and feeds at all hours. Outside the town of San Juan, which lies upon the eastern base of the Andes, Mr. Bishop had a fine opportunity to watch their habits in a locality differing entirely from the pampas. The country around San Juan is a dreary desert, covered with low thorn-trees, and over this waste a few Owls are found, principally near the town itself, in the vicinity of the pastures that are cultivated by irrigation. They mate in September and October. “One evening,” Mr. Bishop writes, “I was attracted by a strange sound that I supposed proceeded from a frog, but it proved to be the love-note of a little Athene cunicularia, and which was answered by its mate. It alighted upon a post, and commenced turning around upon it, with throat dilated, and emitting a guttural sound. These antics were continued for more than a minute, it occasionally bowing its head in a mysterious manner. The female soon after joined it, and they flew away. Each night it perched upon a tall flagstaff and uttered its love-note. Close by the house was a lagoon, the borders of which were swampy, and over this a pair often hovered in search of food. I watched one that kept on the wing for nearly two hours, some fifty feet from the ground, and during that time did not change its position in any other way than by rising or falling a few feet. A boy brought me a female with five eggs, that had been taken from a burrow five feet from the mouth. The bird was very fierce, and fought me with her wings and beak, uttering all the while a long shrill note, resembling a file drawn across the teeth of a saw. I supplied her with eleven full-grown mice, which she devoured during the first thirty-six hours of her confinement. It is said to place a small nest of feathers at the end of the hole, in which are deposited five white eggs.”

The eggs of the var. cunicularia are of a rounded-oval shape, more obtuse at one end than at the other, measure 1.30 inches in length by 1.05 in breadth, and are of a uniform white color, with a slightly bluish tinge.

6885 ½ nat. size.

Strix pratincola. (See page 10.)

The egg of the A. hypogæa is of a rounded-oval shape, equally obtuse at either end, and averages 1.35 inches in length by 1.13 in breadth, and is of a uniform clear white color. This description is taken from an egg obtained by Mr. E. S. Holden near Stockton in California. Captain Bendire writes that he has found as many as nine, and once even ten, eggs in the nest of the North American species.