Chapter III: Appendix: I. Additions and Corrections 499 (3)

This Owl, according to Mr. Hutchins, builds a nest of grass half-way up a pine-tree, and lays two eggs in the month of May.

A drawing, taken by Mr. Audubon from a specimen in an English cabinet, represents a nearly spherical egg, the color of which is white with a slight tinge of yellowish, and which measures 1.18 inches in length by one inch in breadth.

The only authenticated eggs of this variety which have come under my notice are three collected at Fort Simpson, May 4, 1861, by B. R. Ross. One of these measures 1.28 by 1.06 inches.

Nyctale acadica, BONAP.

SAW-WHET OWL; WHITE-FRONTED OWL; KIRTLAND’S OWL.

_Strix acadica_, GMEL. Syst. Nat. p. 296, 1789.—DAUD. Tr. Orn.
II, 206, 1800.—VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept. I, 49, 1807.—AUD. Birds Am.
pl. cxcix, 1831; Orn. Biog. V, 397.—RICH. & SWAINS. F. B. A. II,
97, 1831.—BONAP. Ann. Lyc. N. Y. II, pp. 38, 436; Isis, 1832, p.
1140.—JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. II, 66.—NAUM. Nat. Vög. Deutschl. (ed.
Nov.) I, 434, pl. xliii, figs. 1 & 2.—PEAB. Birds Mass. p. 90.—NUTT.
Man. p. 137, 1833. _Nyctale acadica_, BONAP. List, p. 7, 1838; Consp.
Av. p. 44.—GRAY, Gen. B. fol. App. p. 3, 1844.—KAUP, Monog. Strig.
Cont. Orn. 1852, p. 104.—IB. Tr. Zoöl. Soc. IV, 1859, 206.—STRICKL.
Orn. Syn. I, 176, 1855.—NEWB. P. R. R. Rept. VI, 77, 1857.—CASS.
Birds N. Am. 1858, 58.—COOP. & SUCK. P. R. R. Rept. XII, II, 156,
1860.—COUES, Prod. B. Ariz. 14, 1866.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 1869,
51.—LORD, Pr. R. A. I. IV, III (Brit. Columb.).—RIDGWAY, Am. Nat.
VI, May, 1872, 285.—COUES, Key, 1872, 206.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 51,
1869. _Scotophilus acadicus_, SWAINS. Classif. Birds II, 217, 1837.
_Strix passerina_, PENN. Arct. Zoöl. p. 236, sp. 126, 1785.—FORST.
Phil. Transl. LXII, 385.—WILS. Am. Orn. pl. xxxiv, f. 1, 1808. _Ulula
passerina_, JAMES. (WILS.), Am. Orn. I, 159, 1831. _Strix acadiensis_,
LATH. Ind. Orn. p. 65, 1790. _S. albifrons_, SHAW, Nat. Misc. V, pl.
clxxi, 1794; Zoöl. VII, 238, 1809.—LATH. Orn. Supp. p. 14. _Bubo
albifrons_, VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept. I, 54, 1807. _Scops albifrons_,
STEPH. Zoöl. XIII, II, 51. _Nyctale albifrons_, CASS. Birds Cal. &
Tex. 187, 1854.—BONAP. Consp. Av. p. 54.—CASS. Birds N. Am. 1858,
57.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 52, 1869. _Strix frontalis_, LICHT. Abh. Ak.
Berl. 1838, 430. _Nyctale kirtlandi_, HOY, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil.
VI, 210, 1852. _S. phalænoides_, DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 206, 1800.—LATH.
Ind. Orn. Supp. p. 16, 1802; Syn. Supp. II, 66; Gen. Hist. I, 372,
1828. _Athene phalænoides_, GRAY, Gen. B. fol. sp. 43, 1844. _Athene
wilsoni_, BOIE, Isis, 1828, 315.

SP. CHAR. _Adult_ (♀, 120,044, Washington, D. C., Feb., 1859; C. Drexler). Upper surface plain soft reddish-olive, almost exactly as in _N. richardsoni_; forehead, anterior part of the crown, and the facial circle, with each feather with a short medial line of white; feathers of the neck white beneath the surface, forming a collar of blotches; lower webs of scapulars white bordered with brown; wing-coverts with a few rounded white spots; alula with the outer feathers broadly edged with white. Primary coverts and secondaries perfectly plain; five outer primaries with semi-rounded white spots on the outer webs, these decreasing toward the ends of the feathers, leaving but about four series well defined. Tail crossed with three widely separated narrow bands of white, formed of spots not touching the shaft on either web; the last band is terminal. “Eyebrow” and sides of the throat white; lores with a blackish suffusion, this more concentrated around the eye; face dirty white, feathers indistinctly edged with brownish, causing an obsoletely streaked appearance; the facial circle in its extension across the throat is converted into reddish-umber spots. Lower parts, generally, silky-white, becoming fine ochraceous on the tibiæ and tarsi; sides of the breast like the back, but of a more reddish or burnt-sienna tint; sides and flanks with longitudinal daubs of the same; jugulum, abdomen, lower tail-coverts, tarsi, and tibiæ, immaculate. Wing formula, 4–3=5–1=8. Wing, 5.40; tail, 2.80; culmen, .50; tarsus, .80; middle toe, .60.

Seven specimens before me vary from, wing, 5.25 to 5.80; tail, 2.60 to 3.00 (♀). The largest specimen is 12,053 (♀, Fort Tejon, California; J. Xantus). This differs from the specimen described in whiter face, more conspicuous white streaks on forehead, smaller, less numerous, red spots below, and in having a fourth white band on the tail; this, however, is very inconspicuous. 32,301 (Moose Factory; J. McKenzie), 9,152 (Fort Vancouver, February; Dr. J. G. Cooper), and 11,793 (Simiahmoo, October; Dr. C. B. Kennedy) are exactly like the type. There are no authentic males before me, though only two are marked as females; the extremes of the series probably represent the sexual discrepancy in size.

_Young_ (♂, 12,814, Racine, Wisconsin, July, 1859; Dr. R. P. Hoy). Upper surface continuous plain dark sepia-olive; face darker, approaching fuliginous-vandyke,—perfectly uniform; around the edge of the forehead, a few shaft-lines of white; scapulars with a concealed spot of pale ochraceous on lower web; lower feathers of wing-coverts with a few white spots; outer feather of the alula scalloped with white; primary coverts perfectly plain; five outer primaries with white spots on outer webs, these diminishing toward the end of the feathers, leaving only two or three series well defined; tail darker than the wings, with three narrow bands composed of white spots, these not touching the shaft on either web. “Eyebrows” immaculate white; lores more dusky; face and eyelids dark vandyke-brown; sides of the chin white. Throat and whole breast like the back, but the latter paler medially, becoming here more fulvous; rest of the lower parts plain fulvous-ochraceous, growing gradually paler posteriorly,—immaculate. Lining of the wing plain dull white; under surface of primaries with dusky prevailing, but this crossed by bands of large whitish spots; the three outer feathers, however, present a nearly uniformly dusky aspect, being varied only basally. Wing formula, 3, 4–2=5 6–7, 1. Wing, 5.50; tail, 2.80; culmen, .45; tarsus, .80; middle toe, .65.

HAB. North America generally. Cold temperate portions in the breeding-season, migrating southward in winter. Mexico (Oaxaca, SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1858, 295); California (DR. COOPER); Cantonment Burgwyn, New Mexico (DR. ANDERSON); Washington Territory (DR. KENNERLY).

A specimen (15,917, ♂, Dr. C. B. Kennerly, Camp Skagitt, September 29, 1859) from Washington Territory is exactly similar to the young described above. No. 10,702 (Fort Burgwyn, New Mexico; Dr. Anderson) is much like it, but the facial circle is quite conspicuous, the feathers having medial white lines; the reddish-olive of the breast and the fulvous of the belly are paler, also, than in the type. No. 12,866, United States, (Professor Baird’s collection, from Audubon,) is perfectly similar to the last.

My reasons for considering the _N. albifrons_ as the young of _N. acadica_ are the following (see American Naturalist, May, 1872):—

1st. All specimens examined (including Hoy’s type of _N. kirtlandi_) are young birds, as is unmistakably apparent from the texture of their plumage.

2d. All specimens examined of the _N. acadica_ are adults. I have seen no description of the young.

3d. The geographical distribution, the size and proportions, the pattern of coloration (except that of the head and body, which in all Owls is more or less different in the young and adult stages), and the shades of colors on the general upper plumage, are the same in both. The white “scalloping” on the outer web of the alula, the number of white spots on the primaries, and the precise number and position of the white bars on the tail, are features common to the two.

4th. The most extreme example of _albifrons_ has the facial circle uniform brown, like the neck, has no spots on the forehead, and the face is entirely uniform dark brown; but,

5th. Three out of the four specimens in the collection have the facial circle composed of white and brown streaks (adult feathers), precisely as in _acadica_, and the forehead similarly streaked (with adult feathers). Two of them have new feathers appearing upon the sides of the breast (beneath the brown patch), as well as upon the face; these new feathers are, in the most minute respects, like the common (adult) dress of _N. acadica_.

The above facts point conclusively to the identity of the _Nyctale “albifrons”_ and _N. acadica_. This species is easily distinguishable from the _N. tengmalmi_, which belongs to both continents, though the North American and European specimens are readily separable, and therefore should be recognized as geographical races.

Since the above was published in the American Naturalist for May, 1872, Dr. J. W. Velie, of Chicago, writing under date of November 20, 1872, furnishes the following proof of the identity of _N. “albifrons”_ and _N. acadica_: “In 1868, I kept a fine specimen of “_Nyctale albifrons_” until it moulted and became a fine specimen of _Nyctale acadica_. I had, until the fire, all the notes about this interesting little species, and photographs in the different stages of moulting.”

HABITS. The Little Acadian or Saw-Whet Owl, as this bird is more generally denominated, appears to have a widespread distribution over temperate North America. It is not known to be anywhere very abundant, though its nocturnal and secluded habits tend to prevent any intimate acquaintance either with its habits or its numbers in any particular locality. It is rarely found in the daytime out of its hiding-places. It was not met with by Richardson in the fur regions, yet it is generally supposed to be a somewhat northern species, occurring only in winter south of Pennsylvania, but for this impression there does not seem to be any assignable reason or any confirmatory evidence. It has been said to breed near Cleveland, Ohio, and its nest and eggs to have been secured. The taking of Kirtland’s Owl, which is now known to be the immature bird of this species, near that city, as well as in Racine, and at Hamilton, Canada, is also suggestive that this Owl may breed in those localities.

Dr. Townsend is said to have found this Owl in Oregon, Dr. Gambel met with it in California, Mr. Audubon has taken it both in Kentucky and in Louisiana, Mr. Wilson met with it in New Jersey, Mr. McCulloch in Nova Scotia, and Dr. Hoy in Wisconsin. Dr. Newberry met with this bird in Oregon, but saw none in California. Dr. Suckley obtained it at the Dalles, on the north side of the Columbia, in December. This was several miles from the timbered region, and the bird was supposed to be living in the basaltic cliffs of the vicinity. Dr. Cooper found one at Vancouver in February. It was dead, and had apparently died of starvation. Professor Snow speaks of it as rare in Kansas. Mr. Boardman and Professor Verrill both give it as resident and as common in Maine. It is rather occasional and rare in Eastern Massachusetts, and Mr. Allen did not find it common near Springfield. On one occasion I found one of these birds in April, at Nahant. It was apparently migrating, and had sought shelter in the rocky cliffs of that peninsula. It was greatly bewildered by the light, and was several times almost on the point of being captured by hand.

This Owl is not unfrequently kept in confinement. It seems easily reconciled to captivity, becomes quite tame, suffers itself to be handled by strangers without resenting the familiarity, but is greatly excited at the sight of mice or rats. Captain Bland had one of these birds in captivity at Halifax, which he put into the same room with a rat. The bird immediately attacked and killed the rat, but died soon after of exhaustion.

The notes of this Owl, during the breeding-season, are said to resemble the noise made by the filing of a saw, and it is known in certain localities as the Saw-Whet. Mr. Audubon, on one occasion, hearing these notes in a forest, and unaware of their source, imagined he was in the vicinity of a saw-mill.

According to Mr. Audubon, this Owl breeds in hollow trees, or in the deserted nests of other birds; and lays from four to six glossy-white eggs, which are almost spherical. He states, also, that he found near Natchez a nest in the broken stump of a small decayed tree not more than four feet high. He also mentions the occasional occurrence of one of these Owls in the midst of one of our crowded cities. One of them was thus taken in Cincinnati, where it was found resting on the edge of a child’s cradle. Mr. McCulloch, quoted by Audubon, gives an interesting account of the notes and the ventriloquial powers of this bird. On one occasion he heard what seemed to him to be the faint notes of a distant bell. Upon approaching the place from which these sounds proceeded, they appeared at one time to be in front of him, then behind him, now on his right hand, now on his left, again at a great distance, and then close behind him. At last he discovered the bird at the entrance of a small hole in a birch-tree, where it was calling to its mate. As he stood at the foot of the tree, in full sight of the bird, he observed the singular power it possessed of altering its voice, making it seem near or remote,—a faculty which he had never noticed in any other bird.

An egg given me by Mr. Rufus E. Winslow as one of this bird, and figured in the North American Oölogy, was undoubtedly that of a Woodpecker. It is of a crystalline whiteness, nearly spherical, and measures 1.13 inches in length by .87 of an inch in breadth.

A well-identified egg in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution, taken by Mr. R. Christ at Nazareth, Penn., (No. 14,538, S. I.,) measures .95 of an inch by .88. The two ends are exactly similar or symmetrical. The egg is white, and is marked as having been collected April 25, 1867.

GENUS SCOPS, SAVIGNY.

_Scops_, SAVIGNY, 1809. (Type, _Strix scops_, L. = _Scops zorca_ (GM.)
SWAINS.)
_Ephialitis_, KEYS. & BL. 1840, _nec_ SCHRANK, 1802.
_Megascops_, KAUP, 1848. (Type, _Strix asio_, L.)

GEN. CHAR. Size small, the head provided with ear-tufts. Bill light-colored; iris yellow. Three to four outer quills with inner webs sinuated. Wings long (more than twice the length of the tail, which is short and slightly rounded); second to fifth quills longest. Toes naked, or only scantily feathered. Ear-conch small and simple. Plumage exceedingly variegated, the colors different shades of brown, with rufous, black, and white, in fine mottlings and pencillings; feathers above and below usually with blackish shaft-streaks, those beneath usually with five transverse bars; primaries spotted with whitish, and outer webs of the lower row of scapulars the same edged terminally with black. Tail obscurely banded.

_Scops asio._]

The species of this genus are cosmopolitan, the greater number, however, being found in tropical regions. All the American species differ from _S. zorca_ of Europe in having the fourth and fifth quills longest, instead of the second, and in having three to four, instead of only two, of the outer quills with the inner web sinuated, as well as in having the quills shorter, broader, and more bowed, and their under surface more concave. They may, perhaps, be distinguished as a separate subgenus (_Megascops_, Kaup). Of the American species all but _S. asio_ (including its several races) have the toes perfectly naked to their very bases.

Species and Races.

COMMON CHARACTERS. Plumage brown, gray, or rufous, and whitish,
finely mottled above; lower parts transversely barred, and with dark
shaft-streaks. Outer webs of lower scapulars light-colored (white
or ochraceous) and without markings. Tail crossed by rather obscure
mottled light and dark bars of nearly equal width. Outer webs of
primaries with nearly equal bands of whitish and dusky.

1. =S. asio.= Toes covered (more or less densely) with bristles,
or hair-like feathers. Wing, 5.50–7.80; tail, 3.20–4.10; culmen,
.50–.70; tarsus, 1.00–1.70; middle toe, .70–.80. Ear-tufts well
developed; facial circle black.

Colors smoky-brown and pale fulvous, with little or none of pure
white. Outer webs of the scapulars pale ochraceous-fulvous. Wing,
6.90–7.30; tail, 3.50–4.50. _Hab._ North Pacific region, from
Western Idaho and Washington Territory, northward to Sitka …

var. _kennicotti_.

Colors ashy-gray and pure white, with little or none of fulvous.
Outer webs of the scapulars pure white. Varying to bright
brick-red, or lateritious-rufous.

Mottlings coarse, the blackish median streaks above not sharply
defined, and the bars beneath heavy and distinct.

Wing, 6.10–7.75; tail, 3.30–4.35. In the red plumage, white
prevailing on the lower parts, where the red markings are not
broken into transverse bars. _Hab._ United States; except the
Southern Middle Province, the northwest region, and Florida …

var. _asio_.

Wing, 5.50–6.00; tail, 2.75–3.10. In the red plumage, red
prevailing on the lower parts, where the markings are much
broken into transverse bars. _Hab._ Florida and Southern
Georgia …

var. _floridanus_.

Wing, 5.50–5.80; tail, 3.20–3.30. Gray plumage, like var.
_asio_, but the mottling above much coarser, and the nape with
a strongly indicated collar of rounded white spots in pairs,
on opposite webs. Red plumage not seen. _Hab._ Eastern Mexico
and Guatemala …

var. _enano_.[25]

Mottlings fine, the blackish median streaks above very sharply
defined and conspicuous; bars beneath delicate and indistinct.

Wing, 6.20–6.50; tail, 3.35–3.50. _Hab._ Southern Middle
Province, and Southern California; Cape St. Lucas …

var. _maccalli_.

2. =S. flammeola.= Toes perfectly naked, the feathering of the
tarsus terminating abruptly at the lower joint. Wing, 5.40; tail,
2.80; culmen, .35; tarsus, .90; middle toe, .55. Ear-tufts short,
or rudimentary. Facial circle rusty. Outer webs of the scapulars
rusty-ochraceous, in striking contrast to the grayish of the wings
and back. Other markings and colors much as in _asio_. _Hab._
Mountain regions of Mexico and California, from Guatemala to Fort
Crook, Northern California.

Scops asio, BONAP.

LITTLE RED OWL; MOTTLED OWL; “SCREECH-OWL.”

_Noctua aurita minor_, CATESBY, Carol. I, 1754, 7, pl. vii. _Asio
scops carolinensis_, BRISS. Orn. I, 1760, 497. _Strix asio_, LINN.
Syst. Nat. 1758, 92.—GMEL. S. N. 1789, 287.—LATH. Ind. Orn. 1790,
54.—IB. Syn. I, 123.—IB. Supp. I, 42; Gen. Hist. I, 314.—DAUD.
Tr. Orn. II, 1800, 216.—SHAW, Zoöl. VII, 1809, 229.—TEMM. Pl.
Col. 80.—WILS. Am. Orn. 1808, pl. xlii, f. 1.—JARD. (ed. WILS.)
Orn. I, 1831, 307.—BONAP. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. II, 36.—IB. Isis, 1832,
1139.—AUDUBON, Birds N. A. 1831, pl. xcvii.—IB. Orn. Biog. I,
486.—BREWER (ed. WILS.) Orn. 1852, p. 687.—HOBS. Nat. 1855, 169. _Bubo
asio_, VIEILL. Ois. Am., Sept., 1807, 53, pl. xxi.—GIRAUD, Birds Long
Island, 1844, 28.—MAX. Cab. J. VI, 1858, 23. _Otus asio_, STEPHENS,
Zoöl. XIII, pt. ii, 1815, 57. _Scops asio_, BONAP. List, 1838,
6.—LESS. Tr. Orn. 107.—CASS. Birds Cal. & Tex. 1854, 179.—IB. Birds N.
Am. 1858, 51.—KAUP, Monog. Strig. Cont. Orn. 1852, 112.—STRICKL. Orn.
Syn. I, 1855, 199.—HEERM. P. R. Rept. II, 1855, 35.—COOP. & SUCKL.
P. R. Rept. 155.—MAYNARD, Birds Eastern Mass., 1870, 131.—COUES, Key,
1872, 202.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 1869, 46. _Ephialtes asio_, GRAY, Gen.
B. fol. 1844, sp. 9.—IB. List Birds Brit. Mus. 1844, p. 96.—WOODH.
1853, 62. _Strix nævia_, GMEL. S. N. 1789, 289.—LATH. Ind. Orn. 1790,
p. 55.—IB. Syn. I, 126; Gen. Hist. I, 321.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 1800,
217.—SHAW, Zoöl. VII, 1809, 230.—WILS. Am. Orn. 1808, pl. xix, f. 1.
_Asio nævia_, LESS. Man. Orn. I, 1828, 117. _Otus nævius_, CUV. Reg.
An. (ed. 2), I, 1829, 341. _Surnia nævia_, JAMES. (ed. WILS.), Orn.,
1831, I, 96 & 99.

_a._ _Normal plumage._

SP. CHAR. _Adult._ Ground-color above brownish-cinereous, palest on the head, purest ashy on the wings, minutely mottled with fine zigzag transverse bars of black, each feather with a medial ragged stripe of the same along the shaft. Inner webs of ear-tufts, outer webs of scapulars, and oval spots occupying most of the outer webs of the two or three lower feathers of the middle and secondary wing-coverts, white, forming (except on the first) conspicuous spots, those of the scapulars bordered with black. Secondaries crossed with about seven regular paler bands, each enclosing a more irregular dusky one; the ground-color, however, is so mottled with grayish, and the pale bands with dusky, that they are by no means sharply defined or conspicuous, though they are very regular; alula and primary coverts more sharply barred with cream-colored spots, those on the former nearly white; primaries with broad quadrate spots of creamy-white on outer webs, these forming from seven (♂) to eight (♀) transverse bands, the last of which is not terminal. Tail more irregularly mottled than the wings, and crossed by seven (♂) to eight (♀) narrow, obsolete, but continuous, pale bands.

Eyebrows white, the feathers bordered with dusky (most broadly so in ♂); cheeks, ear-coverts, and lower throat dull white, with transverse bars of blackish (most numerous in the ♂); chin immaculate; upper eyelid dark brown; facial circle black; neck and jugulum like the cheeks, but more strongly barred, and with blackish along the shaft. Ground-color of the lower parts white, each feather with a medial stripe of black, this throwing off distinct bars to the edge of the feather; the medial black is largest on sides of the breast, where it expands into very large conspicuous spots, having a slight rusty exterior suffusion; the abdomen medially, the anal region, and the lower tail-coverts, are almost unvaried white. Tibiæ and tarsi in the male dull white, much barred transversely with blackish; in the female, pale ochraceous, more sparsely barred with dark brownish. Lining of the wing creamy-white, varied only along the edge; light bars on under surface of primaries very obsolete.

♂ (16,027, Fort Crook, North California; John Feilner). Wing, 6.70; tail, 3.80; culmen, .61; tarsus, 1.35; middle toe, .72; ear-tufts, 1.00; wing-formula, 3=4, 5–2, 6, 1=9. “Length, 9.50; extent, 23.75.”

♀ (18,299, Hellgate, Montana; Jno. Pearsall). Wing, 7.80; tail, 4.10; culmen, .70; tarsus, 1.70; middle toe, .80; ear-tufts, 1.00.

_Young_ ♂ (No. 29,738, Wood’s Hole, Mass., July 25, 1863; S. F. Baird. “Parent gray”). Secondaries, primaries, and tail, as in the adult, gray plumage; but the latter more mottled, the bands confused. Rest of the plumage everywhere grayish-white, with numerous transverse bars of dusky-brown; eyebrows and lores scarcely variegated dull white; facial circle obsolete.

♀ (41,891, Philadelphia, Penn.; J. Krider). Whole head, neck, back, rump, and entire lower parts transversely barred with dark brown and grayish-white, the bands of the former on the upper parts rather exceeding the white in width, but on the lower surface much narrower; scapulars with large transverse spots of white on the outer webs. Wings and tail as in the adult. Facial disk conspicuous. (More advanced in age than the preceding.)

_b._ _Rufescent plumage._

_Adult._ General pattern of the preceding; but the grayish tints replaced by lateritious-rufous, very fine and bright, with a slight vinaceous cast: this is uniform, and shows no trace of the transverse dark mottling; there are, however, black shaft-lines to the feathers (these most conspicuous on the head above, and scapulars, and narrower and more sharply defined than in the gray plumage). The inner webs of the ear-tufts, outer webs of scapulars, and lower secondary and middle wing-coverts, are white, as in the gray plumage; those of the scapulars are also bordered with black. The secondaries, primaries, and tail are less bright rufous than the other portions, the markings as in the gray plumage, only the tints being different. The upper eyelid, and, in fact, all round the eye, fine light rufous; cheeks and ear-coverts paler, scarcely variegated; black facial circle rather narrower than in the gray plumage. Lower parts without the transverse bars of the gray plumage, but in their place an irregular clouding of fine light red, like the back; the lower parts medially (very broadly) immaculate snowy-white; most of the feathers having the red spotting show black shaft-stripes, but the pectoral spots are not near so large or conspicuous as in the gray bird. Tibiæ fine pale ochraceous-rufous; tarsi the same posteriorly, in front white with cuneate specks of rufous; lower tail-coverts each with a medial transversely cordate spot of dilute rufous, the shaft black. Lining of the wing with numerous rufous spots.

♂ (12,045, Washington, D. C., January). Wing, 6.30; tail, 3.00.

♀ (22,512, Maryland; R. G. Campbell). Wing, 6.70; tail, 3.50.

_Young_ (29,792, Peoria, Illinois; Ferd. Bischoff). Wings and tail as in adult; markings on head and body as in the young gray bird, but white bars more reddish, and dark ones more brown.

HAB. Temperate North America, from the South Atlantic States to Oregon, and from the northern United States to Texas. Replaced in the southern Middle Province and Southern California by var. _maccalli_, in Florida by var. _floridana_, and on the northwestern coast region by var. _kennicotti_.

Localities: (?) Cuba (CABANIS, Journ. III, 465).

The above stages of plumage have caused ornithologists a great deal of perplexity; and it is only very recently that they have become correctly understood. Even yet many persist in regarding the red plumage as being that of the young bird.

That these two very different plumages are entirely independent of age, sex, or season, and that they are purely individual, there can be no doubt; since in one nest there may often be found both red and gray young ones, while their parents may be either both red or both gray, the male red and the female gray, or _vice versa_. Occasionally specimens (such as No. 39,093, ♂, Neosho Falls, Kansas, April 13; parent of five eggs, and captured on the nest with a gray male) are exactly intermediate between these two plumages, it being difficult to decide which predominates; the combination is not only of the tints, but of the markings, of the two stages.

HABITS. The habit of all the varieties of _Scops asio_ in their different localities will be found after their zoölogical description.

Scops asio, var. floridana, RIDGWAY.

_Scops asio_, ALLEN, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl. and other citations from
Florida.

CHAR. Similar to var. _asio_, but much smaller, and the colors deeper. The gray stage very similar to that of var. _asio_, but the red phase very appreciably different, in there being a greater amount of rufous on the lower parts, the breast being nearly uniformly colored, and the rufous broken elsewhere into transverse broad bars, connected along the shaft. Wing, 5.50–6.00; tail, 2.75–3.10.

HAB. Florida and Lower Georgia.

This extreme southern form is much smaller than the more northern ones, being about the same in size as the var. _enano_ (see p. 1374) of Middle America, and the _S. atricapilla_, Temm., of Tropical America generally. The colors, as may be expected, are also darker and richer.

In the collection of the Smithsonian Institution there are both red and gray birds from Florida; a red one (No. 5,857, Indian River; Dr. A. W. Wall) measures, wing, 5.50; tail, 2.70; culmen, .55; tarsus, 1.05; middle toe, .65; ear-tufts, .70. The colors are much darker than those of typical _asio_. The rufous of the neck, all around, shows obsolete darker transverse bars; the black border to the white scapular spots is restricted to the tip, as in the gray plumage; the inner webs of the ear-tufts are scarcely paler than the outer; the neck and face are deeper rufous, while the rufous of the lower parts is more general, and more in transverse rays; tibiæ and tarsi plain rufous; the middle of the abdomen and the anal region only are pure white.

Scops asio, var. maccalli, CASS.

WESTERN MOTTLED OWL.

_Scops maccalli_, CASS. Birds Cal. & Tex. p. 180, 1850; Birds N. Am.
1858, 52.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 200, 1865.—COUES, Prod. Orn. Ariz., p.
13, 1869.—SCL. & SALV. P. Z. S., 1868, 57 (= _trichopsis_, WAGL. Isis,
1832, 276! see remarks below).—BAIRD, Mex. Bound. II, 4, pl. i.—Gray,
Hand List, I, 47, 1869. _Scops asio_, var. _maccalli_ (RIDGWAY) COUES,
Key, 1872, 203. _Ephialtes choliba_ (not of Vieillot!), LAWR. Ann.
N. Y. Lyc. VI, 1853, p. 4.

CHAR. _Adult_ (9,147, Camp 118, New Mexico, February 10, 1854; Kennerly and Möllhausen). Above cinereous, the ashy appearance being caused by a minute transverse mottling of blackish and pale ashy, on a deeper ash ground; each feather with a distinct medial stripe of black, these broadest on the forehead; outer webs of only a few scapulars white, these not bordered with black; outer webs of two or three lower middle and secondary coverts white. Secondaries with about seven transverse, mottled pale bands; primaries with about eight transverse series of white spots; tail with about eight narrow pale bands.

Ear-coverts, cheeks, throat, neck, and jugulum finely and uniformly barred transversely with dusky and grayish-white; the facial circle interrupted across the throat, where in its place is a series of longitudinal black dashes.

Lower parts grayish-white, with numerous, very narrow transverse bars of dusky, rather more distant from each other than those of the neck, etc.; each feather with a medial narrow stripe of black, those on the breast forming conspicuous spots; tibiæ and tarsi dull soiled white, with numerous spots of dark brown; lower tail-coverts immaculate. Wing-formula, 3=4–2, 5, 6, 7, 8–1–9. Wing, 6.50; tail, 3.30; culmen, .55; tarsus, 1.15; middle toe, .70; ear-tufts, .85.

(A specimen from California (Stockton, E. S. Holden), kindly sent by Mr. Lawrence for examination, differs from the preceding in rather more brown ground-color above; the black shaft-streaks more obscure. In other respects as regards plumage it is the same, and is typical _maccalli_. The size is less, it measuring, wing, 6.20; tail, 3.10.)

_Young_ (first full, but incomplete plumage; 16,932, Cape St. Lucas, Lower California). Secondaries, primaries, and tail as in the gray adult. Rest of the plumage transversely barred with grayish-white and dusky, the latter predominating on the upper parts; eyebrows and lores white; rings finely transversely mottled with white, this forming spots on the lower feathers; tibiæ and tarsi with numerous transverse dusky bars. Wing, 5.40; tail, 2.65; tarsi, 1.00; middle toe, .63. No. 16,933 (same locality, etc.) is similar, but smaller, measuring, 5.00, 2.00, 1.00, and .60.

HAB. Southern Middle Province of United States; Lower and Southern California.

Localities. (?) Oaxaca (SCL. 1858, 296); (?) Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I, 220); (?) Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1856, 330).

While the _Scops maccalli_ is without doubt to be distinguished from _S. asio_, its being specifically distinct is not a matter of so much certainty; with a simple statement of the differences between the two, I shall leave the value of these differences to the appreciation of each one, according to his own fancy. The species is represented in the collection by but four specimens, two adult and two young. I have not seen the red plumage as described by Cassin.

The characters of this race, as given in the diagnosis, appear to be really constant; and there is not a specimen in the series of those from the west which may not readily be referred to one or the other.

The gray adult _maccalli_ differs from that of _asio_ in the much finer mottling of the general plumage; the medial black stripes of the feathers above being more sharply defined, and more distinct from the transverse zigzags. Below, the transverse dark bars are much finer, and nearer together. The face, neck, and jugulum more finely and uniformly barred. The white scapular spots have not the black border seen in _asio_. The size is smaller.

The young of _maccalli_ differs from that of _asio_ in much finer bars above, the dusky rather prevailing; below, also, the bars are finer and nearer together.

It is not necessary to compare this bird with any other than the _S. asio_, since it is not at all related to _choliba_, or any other southern species.

_Scops maccalli_ is entirely distinct from the _S. trichopsis_, Wagler, notwithstanding the statement in the Ibis, for April, 1872 (p. 6), that “the name” is “really synonymous with _S. trichopsis_ of Wagler, the bird being quite distinct from _S. asio_, as has been pointed out elsewhere.” (P. Z. S. 1868, p. 57.)

Scops asio, var. kennicotti, ELLIOT.

KENNICOTT’S OWL.

_Scops kennicotti_, ELLIOT, Pr. Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. 1867, p. 69;
Illust. Am. Birds, pl. xi.—BAIRD, Trans. Chicago Acad. Sc. I, II, 311,
pl. xxvii, 1869.—DALL & BANNISTER, Tr. Chic. Ac. I, 1869, 273.—GRAY,
Hand List, I, 47, 1869.—ELLIOT, Illust. Birds Am. I, XXVII.—FINSCH,
Abh. Nat. III, 28.—_Scops asio_, var. _kennicotti_, (RIDGWAY) COUES,
Key, 1872, 203. _? Scops asio_, COOP. & SUCK. P. R. R. Rept. XII, II,
155, 1860 (all citations from northwest coast).

SP. CHAR. _Adult_ (♂, 59,847, Sitka, Alaska, March, 1866; Ferd. Bischoff. Elliott’s type). Above umber-brown, with a reddish cast; feathers confusedly mottled transversely with dusky, and showing rounded spots of rufous, most conspicuous on the nape; each feather with a conspicuous medial broad ragged stripe of black, these stripes most conspicuous on the forehead and scapulars; outer webs of scapulars light rufous, bordered terminally with black. Wings of a more grayish cast than the back, but similarly variegated; lower feathers of the middle and secondary wing-coverts, each with a large oval pale rufous spot, covering most of the lower web. Secondaries crossed by six narrow obscure bands of pale rufous; primaries with seven somewhat rounded, quadrate spots of the same on the outer webs, forming as many transverse series; each light spot with a central dusky mottling. Tail more finely and confusedly mottled than the wings; the bands, though present, are so obsolete as to be scarcely traceable, and so irregular or badly defined as to be of uncertain number. The ear-tufts are black and rusty, the former along the shafts, and in transverse spots; on the outer webs the black predominates, on the inner the rusty.

The lores and basal half of the frontal bristles are white, the terminal half abruptly black; eyebrows about equally blackish and paler, the former bordering the feathers; eye surrounded by dark snuff-brown; cheeks and ear-coverts pale rusty, transversely barred with deeper rusty; facial circle not well defined, black. Chin and lores only white.

Ground-color of the lower parts dilute-rusty, becoming white on the flanks; each feather of the throat, jugulum, breast, sides, and flanks with a broad medial stripe of black, this throwing off very narrow, rather distant, bars to the edge; the spaces between these bars are alternately paler and deeper dilute-rusty; the black marks are broadest on the sides of the breast, where they have an external deep rusty suffusion; the abdomen medially, and the anal region, are scarcely maculate rusty-white; the lower tail-coverts have each a central cuneate longitudinal stripe of black. Tibiæ, tarsi, and lining of the wing, plain deep rusty. Wing-formula, 3=4, 5–2, 6–1=9. Wing, 7.40; tail, 4.00; culmen, .65; tarsus, 1.50; middle toe, .80.

No. 59,068 (Idaho; Dr. Whitehead) is considerably darker than the type, the ground-color above approaching to snuff-brown; it differs, however, in no other respect, as regards coloration; the size, however (as would be expected), is considerably smaller, measuring as follows: Wing, 6.80; tail, 3.50; culmen, .60; tarsus, 1.20; middle toe, .80. Wing-formula the same as in type.

HAB. Northwestern coast of North America, from Columbia River, northward; Idaho (Dr. Whitehead).

No. 4,530 (Washington Territory; Dr. Geo. Suckley) is just intermediate in all respects between typical _kennicotti_ and _asio_, being referrible to either with equal propriety, though perhaps inclining most to the former.

This well-marked form is, according to recognized laws, properly to be regarded as only an extremely dark northwestern form of _Scops asio_. There is no deviation from the specific pattern of coloration, the difference being merely in the tints; while in this it corresponds in every way with other species as modified in the northwest coast region; the somewhat greater size, too, merely results from its more northern habitat.

The only characters which we find in _kennicotti_ which cannot be recognized in _asio_ are the smaller, more quadrate, and more rufous spots on the primaries, and more obsolete bands on the tail; but this is merely the consequence of the greater extension of the brown markings, thus necessarily contrasting the lighter spots. In these respects only does the Washington Territory specimen differ from the two typical examples before us, having the larger, more whitish, spots on primaries, and more distinct tail-bands, of _asio_.

The _Scops kennicotti_ must, however, be recognized as a well-marked geographical race, and, not taking into consideration any natural laws which influence changes in species, it would be very proper to recognize the validity of the present bird. If, however, the rule of which we speak will apply to others, as indeed it does to a majority of the birds of the region inhabited by the _Scops kennicotti_, the extreme conditions of some species of which are even more widely different than in the present instance, and which have been referred to their lighter representatives in consequence of the applicability of this law, we cannot possibly do otherwise with it.

In general appearance, size, and proportions, as well as in pattern and tints of coloration, except in their details, there is a wonderfully close resemblance in this race of _S. asio_ to the _S. semitorques_, Schlegel, of Japan. Indeed, it is probable that the latter is also a mere geographical form of the same species. The only tangible points of difference are that in _semitorques_ the jugulum is distinctly white centrally, there is a quite well-defined lighter nuchal band, with a more indistinct occipital one above it, and the pencillings on the lower parts are more delicate. The size and proportions are essentially the same; the shades of color are identical, while the markings differ only in minute detail, their pattern being essentially the same. In _kennicotti_ the light nuchal collars are indicated, though they do not approach the distinctness shown by them in _semitorques_. Should they be considered as races of one species (_S. asio_), their differential characters may be expressed as follows:—

Var. _semitorques_.[26] A well-defined nuchal collar, of mottled pale
ochraceous; jugulum immaculate white centrally. Feathers of the lower
parts with their transverse pencillings growing fainter towards the
middle line, which is unvariegated white, from the central jugular
spot to the anal region. Wing, 6.60–7.10; tail, 3.60–3.70; culmen,
.60; tarsus, 1.25–1.40; middle toe, .80–.90. (Two specimens.) _Hab._
Japan.

Var. _kennicotti_. No well-defined nuchal band; jugulum closely
barred centrally; feathers of the lower parts with their transverse
pencillings not growing fainter toward the middle line, which
is unvariegated white only on the abdominal portion; the medial
black streaks to the feathers of the lower surface much broader,
and transverse pencillings rather coarser. Wing, 6.90–7.30; tail,
3.50–4.50; culmen, .60–.65; tarsus, 1.35–1.45; middle toe, .80–.90.
(Three specimens.) _Hab._ North Pacific coast of North America from
Sitka to Washington Territory, and Western Idaho.

The zoölogical characters of the different varieties of the _Scops asio_ having been thus indicated, we proceed to consider the species as a whole, and to point out the more important features of its habits and history.

HABITS. The common Mottled Owl has an extended distribution throughout the temperate portion of North America. It is also the most numerous of this family wherever found. It does not appear to have been detected in any part of the Arctic regions. Although given on the authority of Fabricius as a bird of Greenland, it is not retained in the list of Reinhardt. It was not met with by Richardson, nor is any reference made to it in any of the Arctic notes furnished by Mr. MacFarlane or others. It is quite common throughout New England, as well as in the Central, the Western, and some of the Southern States. Mr. Boardman gives it as resident, but not very common, near Calais, where it breeds. It is found near Hamilton, Canada, according to McIlwraith, but it is not common, although Dr. Hall found it quite numerous in the vicinity of Montreal. Mr. Downes does not mention its occurrence in Nova Scotia. It was found breeding by Dr. Lincecum, at Long Point, Texas. It occurs in California, and as _Scops kennicotti_ as far to the northwest as Sitka.

The Mottled Owl is nocturnal in its habits, never appearing abroad in the daylight except when driven out by the attacks of hostile birds that have discovered it in its retreat. Its eyes cannot endure the light, and it experiences great inconvenience from such an exposure. During the day it hides in hollow trees, in dark recesses in the forests, or in dark corners of barns, and comes out from its retreat just before dark. During the night it utters a very peculiar wailing cry, not unlike the half-whining, half-barking complaints of a young puppy, alternating from high to low, intermingled with deep guttural trills. These cries, which are sometimes prolonged until after midnight, usually elicit an answer from its mate or companions, and would seem to be uttered as a call soliciting a reply from some lost associate. When kept in confinement the Mottled Owl soon becomes familiarized to its new mode of life, and rarely attempts to injure its captors, though it will at first snap its bill in a threatening manner and manifest considerable irritation on being approached or handled. In the daytime they keep secluded, appear sleepy or stupid, with half-closed eyes, but, as night approaches, become quite lively and eager for their food. They utter their nocturnal cries in confinement, the doleful sounds of which are in singular contrast with the lively and excited air of the birds as they utter them. Their flight is noiseless and gliding, and they move in a manner so nearly silent as to be hardly perceptible. They are excellent mousers, and swallow their food whole, ejecting the indigestible parts, such as hair, bones, feathers, etc.

Wilson caught an adult bird, and kept it in confinement some time. At first it was restless and attempted to escape, beating against the glass of the window repeatedly, and several times with so much violence as to stun itself. In a few days it was reconciled to its situation, and became quite tame and familiar, and in the evening was very lively, sprightly, and active.

The food of the Screech-Owl is chiefly small quadrupeds, insects, and occasionally, when they have young, small birds. They destroy a vast number of mice, beetles, and vermin, and are of great service to the agriculturist, although their services are not appreciated, and they are everywhere persecuted and hunted down without mercy or justice.

The nest of this species is usually constructed in hollow trees or stumps, most frequently in orchards in the vicinity of farm-houses, and not more than six or seven feet from the ground. Mr. Audubon states, however, that he has sometimes found them at the height of thirty or forty. To show the provident habits of this Owl in procuring for its young a great superabundance of food, Mr. Nuttall mentions finding in the hollow stump of an apple-tree, which contained a single brood of these young Owls, several Bluebirds, Blackbirds, and Song-Sparrows.

Dr. Cooper, on the other hand, relates an instance where one of these Owls resided as an inmate in a dove-cot, where it was not known to do any injury to its inmates.

The Screech-Owl can hardly be said to construct any nest, but lines the hollow in which it rears its young with a few loose leaves, dry grasses, and feathers. The eggs are usually five or six in number; they are pure white, and nearly round. Their average measurement is 1.38 inches in length by 1.19 in breadth.

In regard to the distinctive peculiarities of var. _maccalli_, we are in possession of but little information. Its habits probably do not essentially vary from those of the common _Scops asio_, which it so closely resembles in other respects, and of which it is to be regarded as a geographical race. It was first taken by Mr. E. S. Holden, near Sacramento, and described by Mr. Lawrence as the _Ephialtes choliba_ of Vieillot. It has since been found in other parts of California, in Northern Mexico, Arizona, and on the Rio Grande. It was obtained in Tamaulipas—where it is evidently rather common—by the late Dr. Berlandier, who had also procured its eggs. A single specimen of this Owl was obtained by Mr. A. Schott in Texas, and Mr. Dresser also obtained two small Owls which he doubtfully refers to this variety,—one near San Antonio, and the other in Bandera County. Lieutenant Bendire writes that it is quite common in the vicinity of Tucson, Arizona, though Dr. Coues did not meet with it. Dr. Kennerly observed it on Bill Williams Fork, in New Mexico. It was there found living in the large _Cereus giganteus_ so common in that region, where it occupied the deserted holes of various kinds of Woodpeckers. It rarely made its appearance during the day, and then only to show its head from the hole, ready at any moment to disappear at the approach of danger. On one occasion it was observed among some very thick bushes near the water. It does not appear to have been met with by Dr. Cooper in California, where he refers all the Owls of this genus to the common _asio_. A single individual, referred doubtfully to this bird, was taken by Mr. Skinner in Guatemala. The eggs of this bird, taken in Tamaulipas by Dr. Berlandier, are of nearly globular shape, of a clear, almost crystal-white color, and measure 1.13 inches in length by 0.93 of an inch in breadth. As compared with the eggs of _Scops asio_ they are much smaller, their relative capacity being only as five to eight.

The eggs of the var. _asio_ vary greatly in size according to their locality. Those taken in Florida are so much smaller than those from Massachusetts as almost to be suggestive of specific differences. An egg from Hudson, Mass., taken by Mr. Jillson in April, 1870, measures 1.50 by 1.30 inches, while one from Monticello, Fla., taken by Mr. Samuel Pasco, measures 1.30 by 1.15 inches. Mr. T. H. Jackson, of Westchester, Penn., informs me that he has found a nest of this Owl containing six fresh eggs, on the 5th of April.

Scops flammeola, LICHT.

FEILNER’S OWL.

_Scops flammeola_, LICHT. Mus. Berol. Nomenclat. p. 7, 1854.—KAUP,
Trans. Zoöl. Soc. IV, 226.—SCHLEGEL, Mus. de Pays-Bas, _Oti_, p.
27.—SCLAT. Proc. Zoöl. Soc. 1858, 96.—SCL. & SALV. P. Z. S. 1868,
57; Exot. Orn. VII, 99, pl. l, July, 1868.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 47,
1869.—ELLIOT, Illust. Birds Am. I, pl. xxviii.—COUES, Key, 1872, 203.

SP. CHAR. _Adult_ (42,159, Orizaba Mountains, “rare,” February 3, 1865; Professor F. Sumichrast). Ground-color above pale cinereous, this overlaid on the top of the head, nape, and back by a brownish-olive shade, the ash showing pure only on the borders of the crown and on the wing-coverts and scapulars; the whole upper surface transversely mottled with white and blackish, the latter in the form of fine zigzag lines and a splash along the shaft, this expanding transversely near the end of the feather; the white is in the form of larger transverse spots, these largest across the nape. Outer webs of the scapulars fine light orange-rufous (becoming white beneath the surface), bordered terminally with black. Coverts along the lower edge of the wing spotted with pale rufous; outer webs of the several lower feathers of the middle and secondary wing-coverts with a large conspicuous spot of white. Secondaries crossed by four well-defined narrow pale ochraceous bands; primary coverts transversely spotted with the same; primaries with about five transverse series of very large white spots on the outer webs, the spots approaching ochraceous next the shaft and towards the end of the feather. Tail profusely mottled like the back, and crossed with about five ragged, badly defined pale bands, the last of which is not terminal. Ear-tufts inconspicuous.

Eyebrow white, feathers bordered with blackish; eye encircled with rusty rufous; lores strongly tinged with the same; cheeks, ear-coverts, neck, and jugulum with numerous transverse dusky bars upon a grayish-white ground. Facial circle rusty-rufous spotted with black; throat with a tinge of rufous; chin white.

Lower parts, in general, white; each feather with a black shaft-stripe, this throwing off bars in pairs, across the feather; the medial stripes are very broad, forming longitudinal spots on the breast, and have here an external rufous suffusion; lower tail-coverts very sparsely marked. Tibiæ and tarsi white, with very sparse transverse dusky spots. Lining of the wing plain yellowish-white; bars on under surface of primaries very obsolete, except basally. Wing-formula, 3=4; 5, 2–6; 1=8. Wing, 5.40; tail, 2.45; culmen, .35; tarsus, .87; middle toe, .55.

_Young_ (first full, but imperfect plumage: ♂, 24,172, Fort Crook, North California, August 23, 1860; John Feilner). Wings and tail as in the adult (last pale band of latter apparently terminal). Whole head and body with numerous, about equal, transverse bands of dusky and grayish-white; the two colors about equal, but on lower parts both are much wider and more distinct than above the white gradually increasing posteriorly. Breast and outer webs of scapulars with a rusty tinge, the latter scarcely variegated. Eyebrow white, feathers bordered with dusky; eye-circle and ear-coverts bright rusty-rufous; lores much tinged with the same. No facial circle. Wing, 5.50; tail, 2.70.

HAB. Guatemala and central Mexico, northward (along Sierra Nevada) to Fort Crook; California (breeding).

HABITS. This is essentially a Mexican and Central American species, occurring among the mountains of Mexico and thence to Guatemala. One individual, however, the only one as yet recorded as taken in the United States, was obtained at Fort Crook by Captain John Feilner, and is now in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution. This was a young bird, evidently raised in that locality, and apparently showing that the species breeds in that vicinity. It has been taken also at Orizaba, in the State of Vera Cruz, Mexico. Nothing is known as to any peculiarities of habit. These are not probably different from those of the _asio_.

GENUS BUBO, DUM.

GEN. CHAR. Size varying from medium to very large; head with or without ear-tufts. Bill black; iris yellow. Two to four outer quills with their inner webs emarginated. Third or fourth quill longest. Bill very robust, the lower mandible nearly truncated and with a deep notch near the end; cere gradually ascending basally (not arched) or nearly straight, not equal to the culmen. Tail short, a little more than half the wing, slightly rounded. Ear-conch small, simple, without operculum; the two ears symmetrical.

Subgenera.

=Bubo.= Two to three outer quills with their inner webs emarginated.
Ear-tufts well developed; loral feathers not hiding the bill, and the
claws and terminal scutellæ of the toes exposed. Lower tail-coverts
not reaching the end of the tail. (Type, _B. maximus_.)

=Nyctea.= Four outer quills with their inner webs emarginated.
Ear-tufts rudimentary; loral feathers hiding the bill, and claws and
entire toes concealed by long hair-like feathers. Lower tail-coverts
reaching to end of the tail. (Type, _N. scandiaca_.)

The species of this genus are mostly of very large size, two of them (_B. maximus_ and _N. scandiaca_) being the largest birds of the family. They are nearly cosmopolitan, and are most numerous in the Eastern Hemisphere.

SUBGENUS BUBO, DUM.

_Bubo_, DUMÉRIL, 1806. (Type, _Strix bubo_, LINN. = _B. maximus_,
SIBB.)
_Rhinostrix_, KAUP, 1849. (Type, _Strix mexicana_, GMEL. = _B.
mexicanus_, RIDGW.)
_Rhinoptynx_, KAUP, and _Rhenoptynx_, KAUP, 1857. (Same type.)

Species and Races.

1. =B. virginianus.= Lower parts transversely barred with black, and
without longitudinal stripes. Above without longitudinal stripes on
the anterior portions.

_a._ A conspicuous patch of white on the jugulum; lining of the
wing immaculate, or only faintly barred. Wing, 14.00–16.00; tail,
8.00–10.00; culmen, 1.10–1.20; tarsus, 2.00–2.20; middle toe,
1.95–2.10.

Rufous tints of the plumage prevailing; face dingy rufous. _Hab._
Atlantic Province of North America …

var. _virginianus_.

Lighter tints of the plumage prevailing; face dirty or fulvous
white. All the colors lighter. _Hab._ Western Province of United
States, and interior regions of British America. Upper Mississippi
Valley in winter (Wisconsin, Hoy; Pekin, Illinois, Museum,
Cambridge) …

var. _arcticus_.

Dusky tints of the plumage prevailing; face dull grayish, barred
with dusky. All the colors darker, chiefly brownish-black and
grayish-white, with little or no rufous. _Hab._ Littoral regions
of northern North America, from Oregon northward, and around the
northern coast to Labrador …

var. _pacificus_.

_b._ No conspicuous patch of white on the jugulum, which, with the
lining of the wing, is distinctly barred with blackish. Wing, 12.00;
tail, 7.50; culmen, 1.00; tarsus, 2.10; middle toe, 1.85.

Colors much as in var. _virginianus_, but more densely barred
beneath, the dark bars narrower and closer together. _Hab._ South
America …

var. _magellanicus_.[27]

2. =B. mexicanus.=[28] Lower parts longitudinally striped with black,
and without transverse bars. Above with longitudinal stripes on the
anterior portions. Wing, 11.20–12.00; tail, 6.00–6.50; culmen, .90;
tarsus, 2.00; middle toe, 1.95. _Hab._ Middle and South America
generally.

SUBGENUS NYCTEA, STEPHENS.

_Nyctea_, STEPHENS, Cont. Shaw’s Zoöl. XIII, 62, 1826. (Type _Strix
nyctea_, LINN. _N. Scandiaca_, LINN.).

Species and Races.

1. =N. scandiaca.= _Adult._ Color pure white, more or less barred
transversely with clear dusky, or brownish-black. _Male_ sometimes
almost pure white. _Downy young_, sooty slate-color. Wing,
16.00–18.00; tail, 9.00–10.00.

Dusky bars sparse, narrow, umber-brown. _Hab._ Northern parts of
Palæarctic Realm …

var. _scandiaca_.[29]

Dusky bars more numerous, broader, and clear brownish-black. _Hab._
Northern parts of Nearctic Realm …

var. _arctica_.

Bubo virginianus, var. virginianus, BONAP.

GREAT HORNED OWL.