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
Tengmalm's and Richardson's Owls
The oldest known species is Tengmalm's Owl (C. tengmalmi) of north and central Europe and northern Asia, a bird from eight and a half to ten inches long, which may be distinguished from the American representative by its paler color and whitish, usually unspotted legs. It is strictly nocturnal in its habits, frequenting the forests throughout its range, and feeding on small mammals, birds, and insects, especially beetles. It nests in hollow trees, depositing on the chips and rotten wood at the base of the cavity from five to seven pure white, fine-grained eggs. Its note is said to be a single melancholy call uttered at short intervals throughout the night.
Taking its place in northern North America is a darker-colored race known as Richardson's Owl (C. (. richardsoni). It is a strictly boreal bird, ranging from the northern limit of trees southward to the northern United States, and like its relative is purely nocturnal, spending the day in the seclusion offered by the thick foliage of trees and bushes.
Where there are trees of suitable size it nests in old Woodpeckers' holes or natural cavities, but where there are only bushes it takes possession of the abundant nests of other birds. Its call, according to Dr. Merriam, is”alow, liquid note that resembles the sound produced by water slowly dripping from a height."
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