BUBO VIRGINIANUS '^'^'^ 



GEiros in. Buco. the horned owls. 



Gen-. Cit. The sternum is not very short and not slrowjhj arclted, but with the coracoids set on at an angle. Furaiia 

 (juile loe/l developed. Tail, lonrj. There arc prominent car tufts. 



Although memljers of this j.i-ena« hnyo tlic plumage long and full yet it is not as lax and downy a.<i in the prccedins 

 group. Tbe cy-^.s are ratlier large and are usually yellow in color. The sterno-trachealis is not stout, and there is a f>\'!a- 

 dcr bri^B'jhialis, but no other laryngeal muscles. The oesophagus is nearly straight, but is a little wider in the middie 

 and opens into a small proventrieulus with simple glands arranged in a narrow, zonular band. The stomach is quit* 

 krge, globular in form, with moderately thin walls. The coeea are quite long with the blind ends dilated. The fold of th« 

 duodenum is long, inclosing a small pancreas. Both lobes of the liver are nearly equal in size. There is but one specios 

 within our limits. 



BUBO VIRGINIANUS. 



Great Horned Owl. 



Bubo Virginianus Gm., Syst, Nat., I: 1788, 287. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Sp. Cn. Form, robust. Size, very large. Sternum, stout. Tongue, rather thick and fleshy, homy at the tip wbisb 

 is rounded and slightly bifid. The bill and claws are strong and well curved. The ear tufts are always present and aJU- 

 ally quite prominent. 



Color. Adult. Above, including wings and tail, dark-brown, with the feathers mottled, spotted, and barred with 

 white and rufous, the bars being more distinct on the wings and tail. The base of the feathers are more or less rufoa?.. 

 There is a patch of white on the lower neck and upper breast but the remainder of the feathei-s, including under wing p'lU 

 tail coverts, is barred, mottled, and spotted, with black, white, and yellowish-rufous. The tibia and tai-sus are rufous baj' 

 red with dusky. The face is rufous, black, and white, mixed, but inclined to white on the feathers in advance of the eye. 

 Ear tufts, dark-brown, edged on the inner margin with rufous and white. 



Young. Similar to the adult but show much more rufous below and on the middle of the back, while tiie same color 

 predominates on the wings and tail. 



Nestlings. Are jit fii'st covered with a yellow down which, in time, becomes barred with dusky-brown. Chin anf< 

 throat, white, also the ring entirely surrounding the bill, but the bristles at its base are black, tenuinally. The facial disk 

 is edged with black. The ear tufts are at first wanting but soon appear as the birds gradually assume the second plumaora 

 Iris, yellow, bill and claws, dark-brown, in all stages. Sexes, similar in color. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



It is extremely difficult to give an idea of the variable plumage of this species. Usually specimens from the far North 

 are very light, often being creamy or even nearly white throughout; those from the Middle Region show a preponderance 

 of rufous, while Owls from the South are decidedly darker. This is, prehaps, the rule, but there are many exceptions to it; 

 for example, of two skins befoi-e me, one from Labrador and one from Florida, the northern skin is the darker. Keeping 

 in mind, then, the fact, that either of the three colors, white, black, or rufous, may predominate nearly to the exclusion of 

 the other two, or be mixed in all proportions, it will not be difficult to recognize thLs species by the form alone and especial- 

 ly by the prominent ear tufts combined with the large size. Distributed, as a coastant resident, throughout the entire ex- 

 tent of North America. 



DUIENSIONS. 



Average measurements of male specimens. Length, 21-00; stretch , 40 00; wing, U'OO; tail, 8-00; bill, 1'.50; tarsas, 

 1-25. Longest specimen, 23-00; greatest extent of wing, 45-00; longest wing, 15-00; tail, 9-00; bill, 1-60; tarsus, 1-30. 

 Shortest specimen, 18-00; smallest extent of wing, 35-00; shortest wing, 13-00; tail, "'OO; bill; 1-40; tarsus, 1-20. 



Average measurements of female specimens. Length, 23-00; stretch, 5100; wing, 15-00; tail,9-00; bill, 1-70; tarsus, 

 1-50. Longest specimen, 24-00; greatest extent of wing, 55-00; longest wing, 16-30; tail, 9-60; bill, 1-80; tarsus, 1-60. 

 Shortes' specimen, 3200; smallest extent of wing, 53-00; shortest wing, 15-00; tail, 8-70; bill, 1-50; tarsus, 1-40. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



Nests, ))laced in natural cavities of trees or on the branches. They are either remodeled on the old nests of other birds 

 or composed of sticks and twigs, lined with a scanty supply of leaves, etc. 



Eggs, three or four in number, quite spherical in form, white in color, with thesurface very smooth. Dimensions from 

 1-80x200 t J 2-00x2 30. 



