366 ALUco. 



plete, their feathers with loose barbs ; the ruflF conspi- 

 cuous and complete. Bill partially concealed by the 

 anterior feathers of the disk. The feathers in general 

 are oblong and rounded, those of the abdomen downy, 

 of the legs with soft disunited barbs. Wings long, 

 very broad, much rounded ; primary quills broad and 

 rounded, the first five cut out on both edges, abruptly 

 on the inner, the fourth longest, the third and fifth 

 nearly equal, the first about the same length as the 

 tenth ; secondary quills thirteen, broad and rounded. 

 Tail of moderate length, broad, of twelve arched, round- 

 ed feathers. 



The birds of this genus closely resemble those of the 

 last, but their head is larger and broader, the neck ap- 

 parently thicker, the plumage generally softer. The 

 disks are much larger, and the ruflF being complete gives 

 them a diflPerent aspect, while the ear has a large conch, 

 covered with an anterior operculum, which does not 

 exist in the genus Syrnia, As examples of this genus, 

 may be mentioned Strix nebulosa and Strix cinerea of 

 authors. The common Tawny or Brown Owl of Eu- 

 rope is the only species of general occurrence in this 

 country; but another, Strix Tengmalmi of Temminck 

 and other ornithologists, has in some few instances been 

 found in England. Allied to it is Strix acadica of 

 Linnaeus, which is common to Europe and North Ame- 

 rica, but has not yet been observed in Britain. 



