56 BIRDS. ACCIPITRES. Otus. 



duskj' bars. Tail with the two middle feathers dusky brown, others of an 

 ash colour. The female has the head ferruginous, the nape with a patch of 

 white, the remainder of the upper parts of the body, including the quills, 

 dark chocolate brown, with ferruginous margins. Lower part of the rump 

 and tail covers white. Beneath, the plumage is uniformly ferruginous. 

 Breeds among furze. Eggs 4, white. Young like the female.; Montagu 

 supposes that Pennant referred to this species in liis variety of the Ring-Tail, 

 with the colour of the belly entirely plain, (Brit. Zool. i. 195.) Feeds on 

 larks. Has probably been confounded with the Circus cyaneus, from which, 

 however, it differs obviously in the superior length of the wings. 



It is probable, that the species of this group are more numerous than they 

 are here represented to be. But the descriptions which exist in several Bri- 

 tish works being occupied almost exclusively with colour, render the deter- 

 mination of the species in some cases impracticable. The migration of birds 

 of this kind is still involved in obscurity ; hence, with reference to the rarer 

 species, the season in which they have been observed should be carefully 

 noted, as furnishing an essential element in the determination of their physi- 

 cal distribution. 



II. NOCTURNAL RAPACIOUS BIRDS. 



Gen. XIV. OTUS. Horn-Owl.— Tarsi and Toes closely 

 feathered. The second quil-feather longest. 



27. O. vulgaris. Long Horn-Owl. — Horns consisting of from 



six to ten feathers. 



Otus sive Noctua aurita, Will. Orn. G4. Silo. Scot. 15 — Long-eared 



Owl, Perm. Brit. Zool. i. 203 Strix Otus, Temm. Orn. i. 102 — 



W, Dylluan gorniog — Frequents extensive woods. 



Length 14|, breadth 40 inches; weight 10 ounces. Bill and claws black, 

 hides reddish. Plumage, above yellowish-brown, with dusky streaks, and 

 freckled with grey and white ; beneath, dull yellow, with oblong brown spots. 

 Horns about an inch long, of black feathers, with the margins brown and 

 white. Willoughby and Montagu state the number of feathers at C, Tem- 

 minck at 10. The female has a white throat, the whole plumage tinged with 

 greyish-white. Breeds in evergreen trees or old nests of crows. Eggs 4 or 

 0, of a white colour. The young are of a whitish-red, Avith transverse black 

 lines. Tail and wings grey, with brown points. Feeds on mice and small 

 birds, at night. Does not migrate. 



28. O. brachyoius. Short Horn-Owl. — Horns of three fea- 

 thers. 



Short-eared Oivl, Penn. Brit. Zool. i. 204.— Strix brachyotus, Temm. 

 Orn. i. 99 — £, Mouse-hawk, Woodcock-owl, Hawk-owl ; W, Dylluan 

 glustiog. — Breeds in Orkney — A winter visitant in other districts. 



Length 14, breadth 37 inches ; weight I4| ounces. Bill and claws black ; 

 hides yellow. The plumage, above, is dusky, with pale ferruginous edges : 

 beneath, yellow on the upper part, white on the belly, with long dusky stripes. 

 Quills 25. The two first pointed, the rest rounded. Inner web of the first 

 and second, and outer web of the second, abbreviated near the tip. Tail, with 

 brown and yellow bars. Female higher coloured. M. Cuvier (Itegne Ani- 

 mal, i. 328.), states, that the females are destitute of horns. Bewick (British 

 Birds, 1. 49.), on the contrary, says, " Of several of these birds, both male 

 and female, which we have been "favoured with by our friends, we have ob- 

 served that both had the upright tufts or ears." Breeds in heaths. Mr Low, 

 who observed the nest in Hoy (Faun. Ore. 42.), found two young ones. 



