STRIGIDAE 413 



Siam ; S. hrucii, ranging from Transcaspia to India being possibly 

 separable. The type species is grey above with the middle of the 

 feathers dark, the back being vermiculated with brown and the 

 wings spotted with white ; the whitish lower parts are more 

 streaky and the toes bare. It feeds by night on mice, small 

 birds, grasshoppers, moths, and beetles ; and utters a melancholy 

 metallic single note, which rings monotonously through the woods 

 it haunts ; in the day it hides in thick cypresses and the like. 

 Five or six roundish eggs are deposited in holes in trees, rocks, 

 and buildings, or rarely in deserted birds' nests ; no bedding 

 being added, though the opposite is the case in some Indian 

 species. ;S'. asio, the Mottled or American Screech-Owl, reaches 

 with its different races from Alaska and Canada to Guatemala, 

 and is said to have a wailing cry, varied by deep guttural trills. 

 ^S'. flammeola occurs from Colorado and California to Guatemala ; 

 and thence various species carry the range to Brazil. The 

 Ethiopian Eegion generally is tenanted by S. leucotis, the Gold 

 Coast by S. icterorhynclius, Anjuan in the Comoros by aS'. capnodes, 

 Madagascar by S. rutilus — though this is said to be a form of 

 S. magicus, extending from Celebes to about New Guinea ; the 

 Indian Eegion and the Moluccas possess a large number of 

 species, among which S. gyinnopus of India (with half-naked 

 metatarsi like S. nacHpes of Veragua) may be mentioned. 



Buho ignavus, the Eagle-Owl, which visits Britain, and is the 

 Grand Due of the French, is blackish-brown above, with yellowish- 

 rufous mottlings and interrupted wing- and tail-bars ; it is 

 yellowish-buff below with blackish streaks and indistinct trans- 

 verse markings. The facial discs are fairly distinct, the head- 

 tufts are long, and the toes thickly feathered. This fierce species, 

 one of the largest of the Family, inhabits rugged mountains and 

 forests throughout Europe, Asia north of the Himalayas to Japan, 

 and North Africa ; it is partly diurnal, and preys chiefly upon 

 hares, rabbits, large game birds, and rodents, being said moreover 

 to attack fawns. Tlie flight is powerful, though undulating and 

 flapping ; the cry is a deep " lioo, hoo," occasionally sounding like 

 a laugh or neigh. Two, or rarely three, roundish eggs are de- 

 posited in holes scraped in the soil on rocky ledges or on banks, 

 in disused birds' nests, in hollow trees, or even between their 

 branches or roots ; little lining, if any, being added. Nearly allied 

 forms are B. turcomanus of South-West Siberia and Turkestan, 



