Part 14

A large Owl with no 'ear' tufts and yellow eyes; chiefly white with small brownish or blackish markings. L. 25.

Range. Nests in Arctic regions, migrating southward irregularly in winter to the northern United States.

Washington, casual W.V. Ossining, A.V. Cambridge, rare and irregular W.V. N. Ohio, rare W.V. Glen Ellyn, very rare W.V. SE. Minn., common W.V., Oct.-Apl.

A rare winter visitant which is more often seen along the seashore. Unlike most Owls it hunts by day, feeding chiefly on mice but also on birds.

HAWK OWL

Surnia ulula caparoch

A medium-sized Owl with a whitish face and yellow eyes and a long, rounded tail; the head is spotted, the back barred with whitish; the underparts are barred with white and blackish. L. 15; T. 7-1/4.

Range. Northern North America, rarely visiting the northern United States in winter.

Cambridge, very rare in late fall. N. Ohio, rare W.V. SE. Minn., uncommon W.V., Oct.-Mch.

"The Hawk Owl is strictly diurnal, as much so as any of the Hawks, and like some of them often selects a tall shrub or dead-topped tree in a comparatively open place for a perch, where it sits in the bright sunlight watching for its prey" (Fisher).

FLORIDA BURROWING OWL

Speotyto cunicularia floridana

A small, ground Owl, with nearly naked legs and feet and no ear-tufts. The upperparts are grayish brown marked with white; the throat is white, rest of underparts barred with grayish brown and white. L. 9.

Range. Southern Florida, chiefly in the Kissimmee Prairie region.

This is a representative of our western Burrowing Owl, which, in some way unknown to man, has established itself far from others of its kind in central southern Florida, where it is locally common. It nests in a hole in the ground, excavated by itself, and lays 5-7 white eggs in March.

PARROTS, MACAWS, PAROQUETS, COCKATOOS. ORDER PSITTACI

PARROTS AND PAROQUETS. FAMILY PSITTACIDÆ

CAROLINA PAROQUET

Conuropsis carolinensis carolinensis

A long-tailed, green Paroquet with a yellow head, orange forehead and cheeks. L. 12-1/2.

Range. Formerly southeastern United States north to Virginia, west to Nebraska and Texas; now southern Florida where it is on the verge of extinction, if not extinct.

Washington, extinct, known only from specimens shot in Sept., 1865.

The Paroquet has paid the penalty of wearing bright plumes, of making a desirable cage-bird, of being destructive to fruit, and of having little fear of man. Once abundant and wide-spread, for nearly the past half a century it has been restricted to Florida, where the species will soon go out of existence, if it has not already done so. Its nesting habits are unknown.

CUCKOOS, KINGFISHERS, ETC. ORDER COCCYGES

CUCKOOS, ANIS, ETC. FAMILY CUCULIDÆ

YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO

Coccyzus americanus americanus. Case 7, Fig. 1

Broadly white-tipped tail-feathers, a partly yellow bill, and largely reddish brown primaries distinguish this species from its black-billed cousin. L. 12-1/2, of which one-half is tail.