STRIGIDtE — THE OWLS. I7 



inches in length by 1.38 in breadth. Another, obtained in New Mexico, 

 measures 1.69 by 1.25. Its color is a dirty yellowish-white, its shape an 

 oblong oval, hardly more pointed at the smaller than at the larger end. 



An egg from Monterey, California, collected by Dr. Canfield, measures 1.70 

 inches in length by 1.25 in breadth, of an oblong-oval shape, and nearly 

 equally obtuse at either end. It is of a uniform bluish-white. Another 

 from the Eio Grande is of a soiled or yellowish white, and of the same size 

 and shape. 



Genus OTUS, Cuvier. 



Otus, CiTv. Reg. All. 1799. (Type, Strix otus, Linn.) 



Asio, Swains. 1831 {nee Brisson, 1760). 



Brachyotus, Gould, P. Z. S. 1837, 10. (Type, Stryx brachyotus.) 



.■EgoHus, Keys. & Bl. 1840 (nee Kaup, 1829). 



Char. Size medium. Ear-tufts well developed or rudimentary ; head small ; eyes 

 small. Cere much arched, its length more than the chord of the culmen. Bill weak, 

 compressed. Only the first, or first and second, outer primary with its inner web emar- 

 ginated. Tail about half the wing, rounded. Ear-conch very large, gill-like, about as long 

 as the height of the skull, with an anterior operculum, which extends its full length, and 

 bordered posteriorly by a raised membrane ; the two ears asymmetrical. 



Species and Varieties. 



A. Otus, Cuvier. Ear-tufts well developed ; outer quill only with inner web 



eniar"'inated. 



Colors blackish-brown and bu&y-ochraceous, — the former predominating 

 above, where mottled with whitish ; the latter prevailing beneath, and 

 variegated with stripes or bars of dusk3^ Tail, primaries, and secondaries, 

 transversely barred (obsoletely in 0. sti/gius). 



1. O. vulgaris. Ends of primaries normal, broad ; toes feathered ; 

 face ochraceous. 



Dusky of the upper parts in form of longitudinal stripes, con- 

 trasting conspicuously wuth the paler ground-color. Beneath with 

 ochraceous prevalent ; the markings in form of longitudinal stripes, 

 with scarcely any transverse bars. Hab. Europe and considerable 

 part of the Old World var. vulgaris} 



Dusky of the upper parts in form of confused mottling, not con- 

 trasting conspicuously with the paler ground-color. Beneath with 

 the ochraceous overlaid by the whitish tips to the feathers ; the 

 markings in form of transverse bars, which are broader than the 

 narrow medial streak. Wing, ILoO- 12.00; tail, 6.00-6.20; 

 culmen, .65; tarsus, L20- 1.2.5; middle toe, 1.15. Wing-formula, 

 2, .3-4-1. ITuh. North America . . . var. ivilsoni anus. 



2. O. stygius." Ends of primaries narrow, that of the first almost 

 falcate ; toes entirely naked ; face dusky, or with dusky prevailing. 



1 Otus vulgaris. Strix otus, Linn. S. N. p. 132, 1766. — Asio otus, Less. Strickl. ^ Bubo 

 otus, S.\AaGN. Uiida otus, Macgill. Otus vulgaris, Flem. Brit. An. p. 56, 1828, et Aucr. 

 0. europceus, Steph. 1. 0. a/bico/lis, Daud. 0. italicus, Daud. 0. communis, Less. 0. 

 aurita, Mont. 0. asio. Leach. 0. sylvcstris, 0. arboreics, and 0. gracilis, Brehm. 



^ Otus stygius. Nyctaloi^s stygius, Wagl. Isis, 1832, p. 1221. — Gray, Gen. B. p. 6, ed. 2, 



VOL. III. 3 



