BURROWING OWL
378. Speotyto cunicularia hypogœa. 10 in.
Legs very long, and nearly bare on the lower part of tarsi; tail short; no ear tufts. An abundant and useful species in the prairie regions west of the Mississippi. They live in the same region that prairie dogs are found, using deserted burrows of these animals, or taking them by force, for they are more than a match for these curious animals; they do not, as has often been said, live peaceably in the same burrows with them. On the contrary, young prairie dogs, as well as rodents, small snakes and birds, form a large part of their daily diet. They are both diurnal and nocturnal, doing most of their hunting after dusk, but often seen sitting at the mouth of the burrow during the daytime. The six to ten eggs that they deposit at the end of these burrows are white.
Range.—West of the Miss. Valley, north to Southern Manitoba and British Columbia. 378a. Florida Burrowing Owl (floridana), is smaller and whiter; found in southern Florida.