. Handbook of birds of the western United States, including the great plains, great basin, Pacific slope, and lower Rio Grande Valley . g. (Fisher.) lURKOWJNG GENUS SPEOTYTO. 378. Speotyto cunicularia hypogeea (Bonap.).OWL. Tail only about half as long- as wing ; tarsus more than twice as long asmiddle toe, scantily feathered in front, barebehind; toes bristly. Adults. — Upper parts dull earth brown,spotted and barred with white and buffy ;under parts mainly buffy barred with : under parts mainly buffy. unmarked ;upper parts plain brown except wings andtail, which are as in adults.
. Handbook of birds of the western United States, including the great plains, great basin, Pacific slope, and lower Rio Grande Valley . g. (Fisher.) lURKOWJNG GENUS SPEOTYTO. 378. Speotyto cunicularia hypogeea (Bonap.).OWL. Tail only about half as long- as wing ; tarsus more than twice as long asmiddle toe, scantily feathered in front, barebehind; toes bristly. Adults. — Upper parts dull earth brown,spotted and barred with white and buffy ;under parts mainly buffy barred with : under parts mainly buffy. unmarked ;upper parts plain brown except wings andtail, which are as in adults. Length: 9-11,wing- tail , bill . Distribution. — Plains region from thePacific east to Dakota and Texas, and fromBritish Columbia and eastern slope of RockyMountains south to Guatemala. —At the end of an old burrow ofprairie dog, badger, or ground squirrel, or ina similar cavity. Eggs: 0 to 11. white. Food. — Ground squirrels, young- prairiedogs, mice, gophers, small birds, frogs, liz-ards, horned toads, and even fish, together with crickets, grasshoppers,beetles, scorpions, and ironi Biological Survey, U. S. Agriculture. Fig. 252. When you are living in the owls country, they, like the groundsquirrels and prairie dogs, come to seem a part of the landscape, andas you ride over the great brown stretches you find yourself looking-for the quaint little Billy owls for life and interest on the mono-tonous way. In a region where there are only scattered holes suit-able for their nests, solitary owls or families are most often seen, andsometimes there wrill be as many as nine around one burrow. Butwhere a ground squirrel colony or prairie dog town offers good nestholes the little owls gather in companies. In dog towns they often find spacious old badger holes to you walk about one of the towrns and the dogs lope off to theirholes shaking their little yellow tails as they disappear, the owlsstand statue-like around
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