oo^ SURNIA ULULA. 



uttered at intervals. Mr. Will Perliam discovered a nest of tliis s^^eeies while collecting 

 on the Magdalen Islands, on the thirteenth of June, 1878. It was placed in a hole of a 

 dead birch tree not far from the ground and contained four young and one adilled egg. 

 As the yning were well grown at this time, it is probahle that the eggs were deposited 

 about the same time as those of the Acadian Owls, very late in April or early in May. 

 Richardson's Owl is not strictly migratory, a few individuals, only, wandering southward 

 in winter. 



GENOS ni. SURNIA. THE LONG-TAILED OWLS. 



'Jen. Cu. The s/ernuni is considcrahly arched, iin/h a nenrlij straight heel which does not quite e'luat in height one half 

 the width of t/ie stcrnnm. Outer marrjinal indentations , wider than the inner. Coracoids short, not heincj equalin length to 

 the top of the keel, hut are not set on at a wide angle. Furcula, not welt developed, for it is not ossified its entire length. Ear 

 tufts, not present. Tail . gradnatrd. and nearly equal in length to the wings which are considerably elongated. Tarsjis and 

 iocs, loell feathered. 



M ciiilirrs iil' this genus arc quite large and the plumage is short anil compact but not strikingly downy. The eyes are 

 not large and arc yellow in color. The sterno-trachealis is thin, and there is a slender bronchialis, but no other laryn- 

 geal muscles. As in other Owls, the tympaniform membrane is present and although there is a thin os transver.sale, it 

 does not support a semilunar membrane. The oesophagus is nearly straight, being a little wider in the middle, and opens 

 into a quite I.Trgo jiroventriculus with simple, oval glands arr.anged in a wide, zonular band which measures r08 mulula, 

 from wliicii this and the following dimensionsi are taken. The stomach is of medium size, somewhat globular in form, with 

 thin but siift walls. The f 'Id of the duodenum is long, inclosing a wide pancreas which, however, only extends half its 

 leagth. Tlie cfcca arc not very long, iJ'yS in length, small near the intestine, measuring "08 in diameter, with the blind 

 ends dilated into balloon-shaped sacs, -25 in diameter. The s])leen is an elliptical body lying directly on the proventrio- 

 ulus. The left lobe of the liver is larger than the right. There is but one species within our limits. 



SURNIA ULULA. 



Hawk Owl. 



Strixulula Linn, Syst. Nat., I; I'm, 1.33. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Sp. Cn. Form, long and slender Size, large. Sternum, quite stout. The marginal indentations are quite deep. 

 Tongue, rather thick and fleshy, horny at the tip which is rounded and slightly bifid. Hill and claws, not long, the for- 

 mer is stout but the latter are slender. 



Color. Adult. Above, including upper wing coverts, uniform dark greenish-brown, with a narrow central line of 

 white on the featheiN of the top of the head and on sides of face. Spots on scapularies, where they are large and partly con- 

 cealed, andim wing coverts, and basal portion of feathers back of neck, white. Wings, dark greenish-brown, spotted on 

 the outer and inner webs of primaries and secondaries with white. Tail, also greenish-brown, narrowly trjiped with white 

 and each f.;ather is marked on lioth webs with about eight ])airsof white bai-s. Upper tail coverts, reddish-lirown, barred 

 with white. T.ie f.ice, is white and dusky, mixed, the former color predominating around the eye, excepting in front of it, 

 and the latter on tlie sides of the liill and in a line to the top of head. Beneath, white, with large spots of black on the sides 

 of neck; remainder of under parts, including under wing coverts, transversely barred, excepting on the chin and abdomen, 

 with ]xil3 roddish-lirovvu. Under tail coverts, white, barred with reddish-brown. Tibia and tarsus, reddish-white, barred 

 witli brownisli. 



Young. (Juite similar to the adult but th.ere is a dark band across the breast, and the feathers below show traces jj 

 rufous, especially on the flanks. 



Nestlings. Are at first covered with a reddish down and, in time, gradually assume the jiluraage last described. IriS 

 and soles of feet, yellow, bill, also yellow, darker at base and on lower mandible, cere greenish, and claws, dark-brown, in 

 all stages. Sexes, similar in color. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Specimens are quite uniform in coloration. Readily known, in the adult stage, from the preceding species by the very 

 dark grceuisli-ljrown color- in all stages, by the bars on the long tail, as well a.s on the lower parts; and from all others, by 



