359 



SYRNIA PASSERINA. 



THE LITTLE OR PASSERINE HAWK-OWL. 



Upper parts wood -brown, spotted with white ; ;i 

 broad white band across the throat ; tail with four 

 transverse rows of roundish white spots ; lower parts 

 yellowish-white, with longitudinal brown markings ; 

 toes with bristly feathers, between which the scales are 

 apparent. 



Male. — This species, which is about the size of a 

 jay, has the tail proportionally shorter than the last, 

 and the bill remarkably strong and short, as are the 

 claws. It is distinguished from the next species by the 

 slender clothing of the toes, which in it are densely 

 covered with feathers. The head is large, the neck 

 short, the tarsi also short, and the wings of moderate 

 length. 



The outline of the upper mandible is curved from 

 the base, its ridge convex, as are the sides, the edges 

 sharp and incurved anteriorly, the tip short. The cere 

 is short and bare on its upper part. The lower mandi- 

 ble has the angle broad and short, the dorsal line slight- 

 ly convex, the edges inflected, towards the end in- 

 curved, with a shallow notch on each side close to the 

 abruptly rounded tip. The toes are covered above 

 with transverse series of obscurely defined scales, par- 



