The _Great-horned Owl_ is also an inhabitant of every part of the country. ‘All climates are alike,’ says Mr. Nuttall, ‘to this eagle of the night, the king of the nocturnal tribe of American birds. The aboriginal inhabitants of the country dread his boding howl, dedicating his effigies to their solemnities, and, as if he were their sacred bird of Minerva, forbid the mockery of his ominous, dismal, and almost supernatural cries. His favorite resort, in the dark and impenetrable swampy forests, where he dwells in chosen solitude secure from the approach of every enemy, agrees with the melancholy and sinister traits of his character. To the surrounding feathered race he is the Pluto of the gloomy wilderness, and would scarcely be known out of the dismal shades where he hides, but to his victims, were he as silent as he is solitary. Among the choaking, loud, guttural sounds which he sometimes utters, in the dead of night, and with a suddenness which always alarms, because of his noiseless approach, is the _’waugh ho! ’waugh ho!_ which, Wilson remarks, was often uttered at the instant of sweeping down round his camp fire. Many kinds of owls are similarly dazzled and attracted by fire-lights, and occasionally finding, no doubt, some offal or flesh, thrown out by those who encamp in the wilderness, they come round the nocturnal blaze with other motives than barely those of curiosity.’ The _Burrowing Owl_ differs essentially from all others in his habits and manners. Instead of hiding his head in the daylight, he fearlessly flies abroad in search of prey, in the broadest glare of the sun; and far from seeking abodes of solitude and silence, he lives in company with animals in the recesses of the earth, where they all enjoy the pleasures of fellowship and good harmony. The mounds of the prairie dog or marmot, which are thrown up in such numbers near the Rocky Mountains, are about eighteen inches in height. The entrance is by a passage two feet in length, which terminates in a comfortable cell composed of dry grass, where the marmot takes up his winter abode. Around these villages, the burrowing owls may be seen moving briskly about, singly or in small flocks. They seem to have very little fear of man; either soaring to a distance when alarmed, or descending into the burrows, where it is very difficult to come at them. In countries where the marmot is not found, this owl is said to dig a hole for himself. Their food appears to consist entirely of insects. Its note is similar to the cry of the marmot, which sounds like _cheh, cheh_, pronounced in rapid succession. The burrowing owl is nine inches and a half long. The general color of the plumage is a light burnt umber, spotted with whitish. The under parts are white, banded with brown.[50] Other birds of this species found in the limits of the states are the _Great Gray_ or _Cinereous Owl_, the _Long-eared Owl_, the _Short-eared Owl_, the _Acadian Owl_, and the _White_ or _Barn Owl_.