finely marked with small curving spots of white; back and wings dark brown, sprinkled and spotted with white, pale ferruginous and dusky; primaries barred with brownish yellow and dusky, darkening towards the tips; secondaries more finely barred, and powdered with white and dusky; tail rounded at the end, of the same length with the wings, beautifully barred and marbled with dull white and pale rusty, on a dark brown ground; throat and breast clouded with rusty, cream, black and white; belly beautifully streaked with large arrow-heads of black; legs and thighs plain pale rusty, feathered to the claws, which are blue black, large and sharp; inside of the wing brownish yellow, with a large spot of black at the root of the primaries.

This was a female. Of the male I cannot speak precisely; though from the numbers of these birds which I have examined in the Autumn, when it is difficult to ascertain their sex, I conjecture that they differ very little in colour.

*

About six or seven miles below Philadelphia, and not far from the Delaware, is a low swamp, thickly covered with trees, and inundated during great part of the year. This place is the resort of great numbers of the Qua-bird, or Night Raven, (Ardea nycticorax) where they build in large companies. On the twenty-fifth of April, while wading among the dark recesses of this forest, observing the habits of these birds, I discovered a Long-eared Owl, which had taken possession of one of their nests, and was sitting; on mounting to the nest, I found it contained four eggs, and breaking one of these, the young appeared almost ready to leave the shell. There were numbers of the Qua-birds' nests on the adjoining trees all around, and one of them actually on the same tree. Thus we see how unvarying are the manners of this species, however remote and different the countries may be where it has taken up its residence.

Commonly known by the name of Cocker's swamp, from time immemorial a noted place for the shooting of Woodcocks.

SPECIES 9. STRIX NÆVIA.*

MOTTLED OWL.

[Plate XIX.-Fig. 1. Female.]

Arct. Zool. 231. No. 118.-LATHAM, 1, 126.—TURTON, 1, 167.PEALE'S Museum, No. 444.

ON contemplating the grave and antiquated figure of this night wanderer, so destitute of every thing like gracefulness of shape, I can scarcely refrain from smiling at the conceit, of the ludicrous appearance this bird must have made, had nature bestowed on it the powers of song, and given it the faculty of warbling out sprightly airs, while robed in such a solemn exterior. But the great God of Nature hath, in his wisdom, assigned to this class of birds a more unsocial, and less noble, though, perhaps, not less useful, disposition, by assimilating them, not only in form of countenance, but in voice, manners, and appetite, to some particular beasts of prey; secluding them from the enjoyment of the gay sunshine of day, and giving them little more than the few solitary hours of morning and evening twilight, to procure their food, and pursue their amours; while all the tuneful tribes, a few excepted, are wrapt in silence and repose. That their true character, however, should not be concealed from those weaker animals on whom they feed, (for heaven abhors deceit and hypocrisy) He has stamped their countenance with strong traits of their murderer the Cat; and birds in this respect are, perhaps, better physiognomists than men.

The Owl now before us is chiefly a native of the northern regions, arriving here, with several others, about the commence

* Strix asio. This is the adult of the following species, and the name asio given to the young, must be retained for the species, as the young was first described. See LINN. Syst. 1, p. 92, No. 3, Ed. 10.

ment of cold weather; frequenting the uplands and mountainous districts, in preference to the lower parts of the country; and feeding on mice, small birds, beetles, and crickets. It is rather a scarce species in Pennsylvania; flies usually in the early part of night and morning; and is sometimes observed sitting on the fences during day, when it is easily caught; its vision at that time being very imperfect.

The bird represented in the plate was taken in this situation, and presented to me by a friend. I kept it in the room beside me for some time; during which its usual position was such as I have given it. Its eyelids were either half shut, or slowly and alternately opening and shutting, as if suffering from the glare of day; but no sooner was the sun set, than its whole appearance became lively and animated; its full and globular eyes shone like those of a cat; and it often lowered its head, in the manner of a cock when preparing to fight, moving it from side to side, and also vertically, as if reconnoitring you with great sharpness. In flying through the room, it shifted from place to place with the silence of a spirit, (if I may be allowed the expression,) the plumage of its wings being so extremely fine and soft as to occasion little or no friction with the air: a wise provision of nature, bestowed on the whole genus, to enable them, without giving alarm, to seize their prey in the night. For an hour or two in the evening, and about break of day, it flew about with great activity. When angry, it snapped its bill repeatedly with violence, and so loud as to be heard in the adjoining room, swelling out its eyes to their full dimensions, and lowering its head as before described. It swallowed its food hastily, in large mouthfuls; and never was observed to drink. Of the eggs and nest of this species I am unable to speak.

The Mottled Owl is ten inches long, and twenty-two in extent; the upper part of the head, the back, ears and lesser wingcoverts, are dark brown, streaked and variegated with black, pale brown, and ash; wings lighter, the greater coverts and primaries spotted with white; tail short, even, and mottled with black, pale brown, and whitish, on a dark brown ground; its

lower side gray; horns (as they are usually called) very prominent, each composed of ten feathers; increasing in length from the front backwards, and lightest on the inside; face whitish, marked with small touches of dusky, and bounded on each side with a circlet of black; breast and belly white, beautifully variegated with ragged streaks of black, and small transverse touches of brown; legs feathered nearly to the claws, with a kind of hairy down, of a pale brown colour; vent and under tail-coverts white, the latter slightly marked with brown; iris of the eye a brilliant golden yellow; bill and claws bluish horn colour.

This was a female. The male is considerably less in size; the general colours darker; and the white on the wing-coverts not so observable.

Hollow trees, either in the woods or orchard, or close evergreens, in retired situations, are the usual roosting places of this and most of our other species. These retreats, however, are frequently discovered by the Nuthatch, Titmouse, or Blue Jay, who instantly raise the alarm; a promiscuous group of feathered neighbours soon collect round the spot, like crowds in the streets of a large city, when a thief or murderer is detected; and by their insults and vociferation oblige the recluse to seek for another lodging elsewhere. This may account for the circumstance of sometimes finding them abroad during the day, on fences and other exposed situations.

STRIX ASIO.*

RED OWL.

[Plate XLII.-Fig. 1, Female. ]

Little Owl, CATESB. I, 7.-LATH. 1, 123.-LINN. Syst. 132.-Arct. Zool. 11, No. 117.-TURT. Syst. 1, p. 166.-PEAL.E's Museum, No. 428.

THIS is another of our nocturnal wanderers, well known by its common name, the Little Screech Owl; and noted for its melancholy quivering kind of wailing in the evenings, particularly towards the latter part of summer and autumn, near the farm-house. On clear moonlight nights, they answer each other from various parts of the fields or orchard; roost during the day in thick evergreens, such as cedar, pine, or juniper trees, and are rarely seen abroad in sunshine. In May they construct their nest in the hollow of a tree, often in the orchard, in an old apple-tree; the nest is composed of some hay and a few feathers; the eggs are four, pure white and nearly round. The young are at first covered with a whitish down.

The bird represented in the plate, I kept for several weeks in the room beside me. It was caught in a barn, where it had taken up its lodging, probably for the greater convenience of mousing; and being unhurt, I had an opportunity of remarking its manners. At first it struck itself so forcibly against the window, as frequently to deprive it, seemingly, of all sensation for several minutes; this was done so repeatedly, that I began to fear that either the glass, or the Owl's skull, must give way. In a few days, however, it either began to comprehend something of the matter, or to take disgust at the glass, for it never repeated its attempts; and soon became quite tame and familiar. *This is the young bird.