ANATOMY OF BIRDS
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
MIGRATIONS OF BIRDS
CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS
LIZARD-TAILED BIRD
AMERICAN TOOTHED-BIRDS
THE OSTRICHES
THE RHEAS
EMEUS AND CASSOWARIES
THE TINAMOUS
THE KIWIS
THE PENGUINS
LOONS AND GREBES
ALBATROSSES & PETRELS
STORK-LIKE BIRDS
GOOSE-LIKE BIRDS
FALCON-LIKE BIRDS
FOWL-LIKE BIRDS
CRANE-LIKE BIRDS
PLOVER-LIKE BIRDS
CUCKOO-LIKE BIRDS
THE ROLLER-LIKE BIRDS
SPARROW-LIKE BIRDS
Birds and Birding's Guide to:
Watching THE ROLLER-LIKE BIRDS
THE ROLLERS AND THEIR ALLIES
THE OWLS
American Long-eared Owl
Very closely related, and indeed by some regarded as only a geographic form 'or subspecies, is the American Long-eared Owl (.4. wilson-ianus), which differs mainly in being darker, with the dusky of the upper parts in the form of a confused mottling which is not conspicuously contrasted with the paler ground color.
The lower parts incline to be lighter, marked with irregular dusky bars rather than broad stripes. This is a widely distributed species, ranging over the whole of temperate North America south to the tablelands of Mexico, and is strictly nocturnal in its habits. Spending the day in seclusion and coming forth only at dusk.
It is so very quiet in its ways that its presence __ is often unknown even where it is really quite abundant. Its habits are very like those of its relatives across the water; for instance, it is more or less gregarious, as Major Bendire speaks of seeing fifteen in a single mesquite bush, and it appropriates an old nest of bird or mammal for its home. Its food consists largely of- mice, squirrels, gophers, and chipmunks, with an occasional small bird or rabbit, and on the whole it is regarded as eminently beneficial.
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