NYCTALE ACADltW. 



r.20 



The Mottled Owls are not migratory, for their thitk phunage forms an ample protec- 

 tion against the severe cold of even the Northern winters an:!, unlike the other Owls, they 

 do not wander much, each pair spending their lives in a particular locality. 



GENUS 11. NYCTALE. THE SMALL OWLS. 



'!k\. ('it. The sternum is only sliyhtly arched, with a nearly strairjht keel which does not. e'lval in heitjiil one lialf ihf. 

 width of th" sternum. Outer inari/inal indentations, narrower than the inner. Coracoids. not very hm(j , bdnij ijuite equa, 

 in lenyth to the top of the keel, but are not set on at a wide anijle. Furcula, not well developed, for it is not ossified its entire 

 Icnijth. Ear tufts, present but not well developed. Tail, short, but little longer than one half the lenyth of the ivini/s which 

 are considerably elongated. 



Moiiihoi-s of this genus are quite small but the plumage is long and downy. The eyes nro not large and are yellow in 

 color. The sterno-tracbealis is thin, and there is a slender bronchialis, but no other laryngeal muscles. As in other 

 Owls, the tympaniform membrane is present and although there is a thin os transversale it does not sujiport a semilunar 

 membrane. The oesophagus is nearly straight, being a little wider in the middle, and opens into a quite large imivcntrie- 

 ulus with simple, oval glands arranged in a wide zonular band which measures '50, in Acadica,imm wliich this and the fol- 

 liwing dimensions are taken. The stomaeh Ls of medium size, somewhat cuboid in form, with thin, but soft, walls. The 

 fiild of the duodenum is long, inclosing a wide pancreas which , however, only extends half its lengcli. The cocea ai'C not very 

 long, I'^S in length, small near the intestine, measuring "05 in diameter, with the blind ends dilated into balloon-shaped 

 .sacs, -l.") in diameter. The spleen is an elliptical body lying directly on the proventriculus. The left lobe of the liver is a 

 little larger th.an the right. There are two species within our limits. 



NYCTALE ACADICA. 



Acadian Owl. 



Nyclale Aeadira (iM., Syst. Nat.. I; 1788, 29fi. 

 Nyetale alhifrons SnAWS, Nat. Misc. V.; 1794. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Sp. Cii. Form, short and compact. Size, small. Sternum, not stout. The marginal indentations are quite deep. 

 Tongue, rather thick and fleshy, horny at the tip which is rounded and slightly bifid. Ear tufts, very short. Bill and 

 claws, not long, tlie former is stout but the latter are slender. 



Color. Adult. Above, including u]ipcr wing and tail coverts, uniform reddish-brown with a narrow central line of 

 yellowish-white on the feathers of the top of the head and on sides of face. One half of the outer feathers of the scapula- 

 rics, f muing lines, spots on wing coverts and basal portion of feathers back of neck, white. Wings, reddish-brown, spot- 

 ted on the outer and inner webs of primaries and on the outer webs of secondaries with white. Tail, reddish-brown with 

 each feather narrowly tipped with white and marke<l on both webs with three pairs of whitespots. Face, dusky, yellowish 

 and wl ite, luL-ce I, the firmer color predominating around t!ie eye and the latter on tlie sides of the bill and in a line to the 

 car tuft-, which are reddish-brown streaked with yellowish. Beneath, white, with each feather, excepting on the chin 

 and alidomen, cenirally lined with pale, reddish-brown, but much more widely on the breast. Under wing coverts, pale, rcd- 

 disli-brown. Under tail coverts, white, with central stripes ofi'eddLsh-brown. Tibia and tai-sus, pale reddish-brown, un- 

 spotted. 



Young. With the face, forehead and disk, very nearly white and color above much redder, otherwise similar to the 

 .adult. 



Young of the year. Above of the same color as tlie young, but with no traces of white, excepting that the scapularics 

 show the peculiar markings which are, however of a |iale yellowish. Forehead, throat, neck, and breast, colored like the 

 back. Remainder of under parts, including under tail coverts, pale reddish-brown. Under wing coverts, pale rose color. 

 Wings, tail, tibia, and tai'sus,as in the adult. 



Nestlings. Are, at first, covered with a reddish down, but gradually assume the young plumage. Iris and soles of 

 feet, yellow^, claws, dark-brown, cere, greenish, in all stages. Sexes, similar in color. 



OBS!i:RVATIONS. 



Specimens of thesame age and sex are quite uniform in coloration. The plumage of the young of the year is quite sin- 

 gular and is the ff/W/bn.s of authors, but it can readily be distinguished by the color of the wing and tail which are always 

 similar to those of the adult. Readily known, in the adult stage, from the succeeding species by the reddish-brown color, 

 and in all stages, by the three liars of spots on the tail, and fonii all otiicrs, by the small size, absence of any prominent ear 

 tufts, together with the color as d(s;eril>ed. Distributed, as a constant resident, throughout North America to the Arctic 

 <>ircle. 



