310 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



No ear-tufts or plumicorns; five outer primaries emarginate or sinuate on inner webs; 

 facial disk gray, with several concentric, narrow, dark rings or lines; iris dark brown; bill 

 yellow or j^ellowish-white. 



Adult: Upper parts deep brown (umber) regularly barred with pure white, these white 

 bars shortening to squarish or rounded spots on some of the wing-coverts and outer webs 

 of secondaries; throat and breast similarly barred but much'^grayer anteriorly, white or 

 grayish-white predominating on the throat and chest; belly and sides without any cross- 

 bars, but lieavily striped lengthwise with dark brown on nearly pure white; primaries 

 barred on inner webs with blackish and buffy white, the dark bars broadest; tail of same 

 color as back, with whitish tip and about five narrow white or brownish bars. Sexes 

 alike except that the female is largest. Young similar as to wing and tail feathers, but 

 entire under parts uniformly barred with light brown and buffy white, the bars of about 

 equal w^idth. 



Length: 19.75 to 24 inches; wing 13 to 14; tail 9. 



153. Great Gray OwL Scotiaptex nebulosa nebulosa (ForsL). (370) 



Synonyms: Spectral Owl. — Strix nebulosa, Forst., 1772. — Strix cinerea, Gmel., 

 1788. — Syrnium cinereum, Aud., 1839. — Scotiaptex cinerea, Swains., 1837. 



Plate XXVI and Figure 80. 



By measurement the largest of our owls, the wing reaching 16 to 18 inches. 

 The absence of the ear-tufts separates it from everything but the Barred 

 Owl, and its yellow eyes and dusky gray plumage distinguish it from that 

 species. 



Distribution. — Arctic America, straggling southward in winter to southern 

 New England, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, IlHnois, Idaho and northern 

 Montana. 



The, Great Gray Owl must be considered one of our rarest birds. It is 

 never seen except in winter, and often several years may pass without one 

 being recorded. Occasionally, as with most other northern birds, it becomes 

 more numerous, or rather less uncommon, and several specimens may be 

 taken in a single winter. Undoubtedly the greater number are shot by 

 deer hunters and woodsmen who do not appreciate the rarity of the bird, 

 probably confounding it with the Barred Owl. 



We have records from Falmouth, Missaukee county, December 1881 

 (Covert); Munising, Alger county, November 1891 (Covert); Trout Lake, 

 Chippewa county, November 11, 1897 (Selous); and we have a specimen 

 in the Agricultural College collection, taken at St. Ignace, Mackinac county, 

 in January, 1894. There is also a fine specimen in the Kent Scientific 

 Museum, taken November 15, 1906, near Germfask, Schoolcraft county. 

 .Mr. E. R. Kalmbach, who mounted this bird informs me that the stomach 

 contained six short-tailed meadow mice. Mr. W. B. Mershon, of Saginaw, 

 has a very nice specimen in his collection, killed several years ago in the 

 Upper Peninsula, but the exact date and place of capture are unknown. 

 Major Boies states that it is occasionally seen on Neebish Island (presum- 

 ably in winter), and Judge Steere, of Sault Ste. INIarie, tells me that 

 he has seen several specimens, more or less mutilated, hung up at deer 

 camps in the Avoods in Chippewa and neighboring counties. 



There is not the slightest reason to suppose that it ever nests within our 

 limits, nor has it ever been recorded except in winter. During the winter 

 of 1889-90 it was more common in New England than ever before, and 

 numbers were captured. According to Major Bendire it nests from the 



