. The royal natural history. issues forth before dark : and its food is stated to be mainly insects, althoughit will also eat small mammals and reptiles. 156 OIVLS. Burrowing Owl. The curious little burrowing owl {Speotito cuniciilaria) ofAmerica has a special interest on account of its habits, and accordinglydemands a somewdiat fuller notice. This bird is only some 9 inches in length, andmay be easily recognised by the length of its legs, of which a considerable portionis bare, and its spotted plumage. It difters from the preceding form by the lengthof the first primary quill; the interval be
. The royal natural history. issues forth before dark : and its food is stated to be mainly insects, althoughit will also eat small mammals and reptiles. 156 OIVLS. Burrowing Owl. The curious little burrowing owl {Speotito cuniciilaria) ofAmerica has a special interest on account of its habits, and accordinglydemands a somewdiat fuller notice. This bird is only some 9 inches in length, andmay be easily recognised by the length of its legs, of which a considerable portionis bare, and its spotted plumage. It difters from the preceding form by the lengthof the first primary quill; the interval between its tip and that of the third featherof the same series being less than that of the metatarsus. The whole wing iscomparatively short, and has but little power of sustained flight. The general colourof the plumage is sandy brown, the head being marked with oval splashes of huffish. BORROWING OWL (J uat. size) white, while all the back, wings, and tail are mottled and barred with white or throat and the front of the neck are white, but most of the remainder of theunder surface creamy white, with transverse bars of sandy brown, graduallybecoming more and more indistinct towards the under tail-coverts, where theydisappear. Although it has been considered that there are several distinctspecies of burrowing owls. Dr. Sharpe is of opinion that only two can be distin-guished, one of which ranges throughout the southern and western portions of theUnited States and the whole of Central and South America: while the second{8. guadelopeyisw) is confined to the West Indies. There arc two great peculiaritiesin the habits of the burrowing oMd; firstly, that it is laigely diurnal, and secondly,that it always takes up its residence in underground burrows. Regarding its BURROWING OWL. 157 diurnal habits in South America, Mr. W. H. Hudson writes that, all day long, incold
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