18 



NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Above blackish-brown, thinly relieved by an irregular sparse 

 spotting of yellowish-white. Beneath with the markings in form 

 of longitudinal stripes, which throw off occasional transverse 

 arras toward the edge of the feathers. Wing, 13.00 ; tail, 6.80 ; 

 culmen, .90 ; tarsus, 1.55 ; middle toe, 1.50. Wing-formula, 2, 3 - 

 4, 1. Hah. South America. 

 B. Brachyotus, Gould (1837). Similar to Otus, but ear-tufts rudimentary, 

 and the second quill as well as the first with the inner web emarginated. 



Colors ochraceous, or white, and clear dark brown, without shadings or 

 middle tints. Beneath with narrow longitudinal dark stripes upon the 

 whitish or ochraceous ground-color ; crown and neck longitudinally striped 

 with dark brown and ochraceous. 



3. O. brachyotus. Wings and tail nearly equally spotted and banded 

 with ochraceous and dark brown. Tail with about six bands, the 

 ochraceous terminal. Face dingy ochraceous, blackish around the eyes. 

 Wing, about 11.00-13.00; tail, 5.75-6.10; culmen, .60 -.65; tarsus, 

 1.75 - 1.80 ; middle toe, 1.20. Hob. Whole world (except Australia ?). 



Though this genus is cosmopolitan, the species are few in number ; two 

 of them [0. vulgaris and 0. brachyotus) are common to both North America 

 and Europe, one of them (the latter) found also in nearly every country in 

 the world. Besides these, South Africa has a peculiar species (0. cajjensis) 

 while Tropical America alone possesses the 0. stygms. 



Otus vulgaris, var. wilsonianus, Less. 



LONG-EARED OWL ; LESSER-HORNED OWL. 



?Strix peregrinator (?), Bart. Trav. 1792, p. 285. —Cass. B. Cal. & Tex. 1854, 196. Asio 

 pcregriuator, Strickl. Oni. Syn. I, 1855, 207. Otus wilsonianus, Less. Tr. Orn. 1831, 

 110. —Gray, Gen. fol. sp. 2, 1844. — 1b. List Birds Brit. Mus. p. 105. — Cass. Birds 

 Cal. & Tex. 1854, 81. — Ib. Bhds N. Am. 1858, 53. — Coop. & Suck. 1860, 155. — 

 CouEs, Prod. 1866, 14. Otus ainericanus, Bonap. List, 1838, p. 7. — Ib. Consp. p. 50. 

 — Wederb. & Tkistr. Cont. Orn. 1849, p. 81.— Kaup, Monog. Strig. Cont. Orn. 

 1852, 113. — Ib. Trans. Zool. Soc. IV, 1859, 233. —Max. Cab. Jour. VI, 1858, 25.— 

 Gray, Hand List, I, 1869, No. 540, p. 50. Strix otus, Wils. Am. Orn. 1808, pi. li, 

 f. 1. — Rich. & Sw. F. B. A. II, 72. — Bonap. Ann. N. Y. Lye. II, 37. —Ib. Isis, 

 1832, 1140. — AuD. Orn. Biog. IV, 572. — Ib. Birds Am. pi. ccclxxxiii. — Peab. Birds, 

 Mass. 88. Uhtlaotus, Jard. ed. Wils. Am. Orn. I, 1831, 104. —Brewer, ed. Wils. 

 Am. Orn. Synop. p. 687. — Nittt. Man. 130. Otus v^dgarls (not of Fleming!), Jar- 

 dine, ed. Wils. Am. Orn. 1832, II, 278. —AuD. Synop. 1831, 28. — Giraud, Birds 

 Long Island, p. 25. Otus vulgaris, var. vnlsoniamis (Eidgway), Coues, Key, 1872, 

 204. Bubo asio, DeKay, ZooI. N. Y. II, 25, pi. xii, f. 25. 



Sp. Char. Adult. Upper surface transversely mottled with blackish-brown and gray- 

 ish-white, the former predominating, especially on the dorsal region ; feathers of the najie 



p. 8. — Bonap. Consp. Av. p. 50. Otus stygius, Puch. Rev. Zobl. 1849, 29. — Gray, Gen. B. 

 fol. sp. 12. — K.AUp, Monog. Strig. Cont. Orn. 1852, p. 113. Asio styg. ? Otus siguapa, 

 D'Orb. Hist. Nat. Cuba Ois. p. 31, Tab. 2, 1840. — Gray, Gen. fol. sp. 9. — Bonap. Consp. 

 50 (Cuba). Otus communis, var., Less. Tr. Orn. p. 110. Hah. South America (Brazil, ?Cuba, 

 St. Paulo, Kaup). 



