435 



ULULA. HOOTING-OWL. 



The species of this genus closely resemble those which have 

 been united under the generic designation of Syrnia, from which 

 however they are distinguished by having the head larger, the 

 neck thicker, the facial disks more expanded, the ruff complete 

 so as to encircle the face, and the conch furnished with a 

 prominent anterior operculum. 



Bill short, strong, compressed toward the end : upper man- 

 dible with the cere large, and tumid behind the nostrils, the 

 dorsal outline decurved from the base, the ridge broad, convex, 

 anteriorly narrowed, the sides rapidly sloping, convex toward 

 the end, the tip trigonal, acute, decurved so as to be nearly 

 perpendicular ; lower mandible straight, with the crura short, 

 the angle wide and rounded, the dorsal line convex, the edges 

 toward the end sharp, inflected, anteriorly decurved, with a 

 sinus on each side close to the abruptly rounded tip. 



Mouth very wide ; palate flat, sloping a little upwards at 

 the sides with two longitudinal ridges, and a median tubercu- 

 lated ridge toward the mandible. Posterior aperture of the 

 nares oblong, with an anterior slit. Tongue short, narrow, 

 deeply sagittate and papillate at the base, covered above with 

 minute papillae, its sides nearly parallel, the tip rounded and 

 emarginate. CEsophagus wide, without dilatation. Stomach 

 very large, roundish ; its walls very thin, the muscular coat 

 composed of a single series of fasciculi ; the inner surface soft 

 and slightly rugous. Aperture of the pylorus extremely nar- 

 row, with a semicircular flap. Intestine of moderate length, 

 rather wide ; coeca large, oblong, narrowed at the base ; cloa- 

 cal dilatation globular and very large. 



