BIRDS OF NEW YORK 1 23 



Bubo virginianus virginianus (Gmelin) 

 Great Homed Owl 



Plate 57 



Strix virginiana Gmelin. Syst. Nat. I. 1788. 1:287 

 Bubo Virginia n u s DcKay. Zool. N. Y. 1844. pt 2, p. 24, fig. 22 

 Bubo virginianus virginianus. A. 0. U. Check List. Ed. 3. 1910. p. 175. 

 No. 375 



bubo, Lat., the Eagle owl; virginianus, of Virginia 



Description. Very large, conspicuously " horned." Upper parts ocher- 

 011s, profusely marbled and speckled with blackish; wings and tail barred 

 with dusky; under ports lighter ocherous, more or less overlaid with whitish, 

 finely barred with black; a necklace of black blotches on breast; throat patch 

 white; bill blackish; eyes yellow, larger than those of any other native bird. 

 The large size, great head, long ear tufts, and general yellowish brown 

 color effect, distinguish this bird at a distance from any other species. 



Length 21-24 inches; extent 50-60; wing 14-16; tail 8-10; tarsus 

 2-2.3; weight 3-4.5 pounds. 



Distribution. The Great horned owl is a permanent resident through- 

 out New York State. It is no longer common, however, except in the 

 wooded districts. The early settlers were too well acquainted with its 

 disastrous raids upon the chicken roost, and it still imposes a heavy toll 

 upon all kinds of poultry in the rural districts. Next to the Screech owl 

 it is the best known member of the family, and the owl cages in every 

 " zoo " are always well supplied with specimens of this feathered pirate. 

 Late in the fall and again in February there seems to be a decided increase 

 in its numbers and several individuals are occasionally found together 

 in thick clusters of evergreens or even in the same tree, which fact is 

 probably to be explained by the partial migration of the species from the 

 northern portion of its range. Our subspecies inhabits eastern North 

 America from Wisconsin, Quebec and Newfoundland southward to Florida 

 and Texas. Other subspecies are found in nearly every other portion of 

 North America and in South America. 



Habits. The Great horned owl is even more nocturnal in habit than 

 the Barred owl, but in some portions of the country is said to hunt more 



