262 AVES: RAPTORES. — XLI. 
cc. Ear-tufts not evident; cere short. 
d. Tail about 3 wing. 
e. Eyes not small, the iris dusky; 5 outer primaries emarginate. 
Syrnium, 430. 
ee. Eyes rather small, the iris yellow; six outer primaries sinuate; 
billige wig) Hee MUS eee ee SCOTIAPTEX, 431. 
dd. Tail short, nearly even, about half wing ; iris yellow. 
NyctTA.a, 432. 
bb. Eye nearer top than bottom of a more or less incomplete disk; external 
ear not larger than eye, without developed opercle; iris yellow. 
Jj. Head with very conspicuous ear-tufts. 
g. Tail about 3 wing ; bill pale. . . . . Mecascops, 433. 
gg. Tail about 2 wing; bill blackish. . . . . Buso, 434, 
Jf. Head without evident ‘‘ear-tufts;’’ (these rudimentary in 
Nyctea). 
h. Tail rounded; plumage chiefly white. . NycrTeEa, 435. 
hh. Tail graduated; plumage not white. . . SuRNIA, 436. 
aa. Tarsus nearly naked, its length more than twice middle toe; facial disk 
imperfect; no ear-tufts.. . . - « «© « e «© « « SPEOTYTO, 437. 
429. ASIO Brisson. 
a. Far-tufts well developed. of 8 to 12 feathers. (Aszo.) 
827. A. wilsonianus (Lesson). LONG-EARED OwL. One 
primary emarginate. Dusky, more or less mottled and streaked 
with buffy and grayish, much variegated below. L.15. W. 12. 
T. 6. N. Am., often using deserted crow’s nests. 
aa. Ear-tufts inconspicuous, few feathered. (Brachyotus Gould.) 
828. A. accipitrinus (Pallas). SHoRT-EARED Ow1. Two 
outer primaries usually emarginate. Buffy whitish, striped with 
dark brown, the dark streaks narrower below. L.15. W. 12, 
T. 6. Nearly cosmopolitan, not rare in U.S. (u.) 
430. SYRNIUM Savigny. 
829. S. nebulosum (Forster). BARRED Ow. ‘Toes not con- 
cealed. Olive brown, barred with white above; breast similarly 
barred ; belly streaked. L. 18. W.14. T.9. E. N. Am., com- 
mon; the most noisy of our owls, but rather mild in temper. 
431. SCOTIAPTEX Swainson. (oxorios, dark; mrepvé, wing.) 
830. S. cinereum (Gmelin). GREAT Gray OwL. SPECTRAL 
Owx. ‘Toes concealed by long feathers. Cinereous brown above, 
waved with white; breast streaked, belly barred. L. 30. W. 18. 
T. 12. Northern, occasionally S. in winter to N. J. and IIl.; a 
huge bird, one of the largest of owls. (Hu.) (Lat., ashy.) 
432. NYCTALA Brehm. (vuxrados, drowsy.) 
831. N. tengmalmii (Gmelin). Sparrow Owt. Bill yellow; 
cere not tumid; nostrils obliquely oval, opening laterally. Choco- 
