418 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. 



Genxs bubo Cumer. 

 n>ii>o cuv. ni'K. All. m:, 331. ttv. >'<■"■ '"''"> Lrss. 



liEN. Chab. Size viirylnc from meiliuni to very Inrcr-; lii'iul with woU-ili'velopi-il i.-ar- 

 lufts. Blllblnrk: irlu yillow. oraiief. orbrowii. Two or llirui' outor auills with their 

 Inner webs omiirBlnateil. Thlnl or fourth quill lon(ie«t. Bill very robust, the lower 

 mandible nearly truneated. iiml with a dei'p notch near the I'nd; eere enidually nseend- 

 Inc basally (not arehedl or nearly HtraiRht, not equal to the eiilmen. Tall Khort. u littlo 

 more than half the wine. sllKlilly rounded. Ear-eonoh Kmall, simple, without opercu- 

 lum; the two ears symmetrieal. 



There is but one species of this genus, as restricted, in North 

 America. This, however, varies so much with locahty that several 

 geogra])hieai races liavo been recognized,' of wliicli the following 

 appear pretty well characterized : 



1'. yirginianas. Dark colored, usually with mueh ochraeoous or tawny, the dark 

 maikiiiKs broad and distinetly dellued. Hah. Eastern North America, south to 



Costa Iti.'ii. 



ft. snbarotious. Licht colored, with bulT in$tea<l of oehraeeous. the dark markings 

 narrower and less distinct, llah. Western United States and Interior of British 

 America: east, oecasionally, to Wisconsin andlllinois.south to central and west- 

 ern Mexico. 



y. gatnrattis. Very dark colored, with the dark markings much broader than in nV- 

 ginianus. Hull. Northwest coast. from northern California to Sitka; Lal>rad<ir. 



f5. arctious. Very light colored, the prevnllini;uupeet white, the dark markiiiKS very 

 iiincli reduced in exti'nt. /Inh. Interior of Arctic America. 



Tliese races arc very strongly ciiaracterized in a majority of speci- 

 mens from any ty])ical locality, l)ut there is a very great amount of 

 individual variation in eiuli. Only two" of them (rtr//(;ii(/«».s ;iiid 

 subarcticii.s) are known to occur iti Illinois. 



Bubo virginianus (Linn.) 



GREAT HORNED OWL. 



Popular synonTms. Cat Owl; Booby t)wl. 



SIrix riroiiiiinni liMEh. S. N. i. pt. i,17l<H,3b7.— Wii.s. .\ni. Orii. vi. INIL', .'i'. pi. .W. flu. 1.— 

 NUTT. Man. i, I832,li4.— Al'D. Orn. Bioe. 1, ISf.'.Si:!; v. 1S39. 3M.pl. i.I. 



Strix iBiiho) rirghiiaiitia Sw. A; Rich. I". B.-A. ii. Itfll.S;. 



Jliilio rirahiiainix Bp. 1S«.— Aud. Synop. PCB). li-l; B. Am. 1, 1840. 1«, pi. :W.— t'AKS. ill 

 Baird's B. N. Am. 1858. I9.-Baiiid. Cat. N. Am. B. 18r>!t. No. 4a-CoUE8, Key. 187a, 

 202; Chock List, IWI.No. :J17; 2d ed. 1882, No. ■US: B. N. W. 1874. 300 (a. rir(7riiin)iii.i; 

 excl. syn. pt.).— B. B. & U. Hist. N.Am. B. ill. 1874, ft). ILMvar. riiohiianuf).— 

 RiDow. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881. No. 405. 



liiibo virgiiiiaiiiin ntlaiilicus Cass. Illiistr. 18.')4. ITS; in liainl'.H B. N. .\m. 18'>S. 4'.'. 



