OWLS. 



337 



long cord, mid letting this drag behind ;is tlio Inintcr wnlks. Its fondness for fish has 

 been frequently noticed, and this partly ex|)lains Avhy, during its winter visits to the 

 United States, it is more abundant on the seaboard than in the interior. 



Many other owls are fond of fish and are skilful in catching them, but only two 

 genera seem to have the feet specially modified for this purpose, viz., the African 

 genus iScoto2)€lia, and the Asiatic Jxiitiipa. In both these forms the under surface of 

 the toe.s is thickly beset with pajiilhe or sj)icules, as in the osprey, and the large, 

 strongly curved talons are of nearly equal length on all the toes. In SculopcUa the 

 head is smooth, and the tarsus is entirely bare behind, and only feathered in front for 

 a little distance below the tibio-tarsal joint ; while in Ketxpa rather less than the 

 lower third of the tarsus is bare, and the head has prominent plumicorns two or three 

 inches in length. Three s])ecies of each genus have been described, but the characters 

 on which they are founded would seem, from the descriptions, to be very slight. All 

 are very large owls, and 

 are suj>i)osed to feed large- ^ft^i»r>» 

 ly, if not entirely, on iisli 

 and crabs, but, as they arc 

 inh.ibitants of the deep 

 forests and a])pear to be 

 nocturnal in habits, they 

 have seldom been seen 

 fishing. Mr. S win hoe, 

 while at Ningpo, China, 

 dissected a specimen of 

 I\eti(pafl<tv!2ycs which had 

 the stomach " crammed 

 with bones and other re- 

 mains of fishes, the largest 

 about four inches long." Hcotopelia ptd'i is found in western and southeastern Africa, 

 and Kctupa ceijlonensis is from India and China, while K. Javanensis, the smallest 

 form, inhabits the East Indies and Malay Peninsula. 



The horned-owls of the genus JBuho, inhabiting nearly all parts of the world except 

 Australia, are remarkable for their large size and great strength, as well as for the 

 great development of the plumicorns or ear-tufts. The number of species is variously 

 estimated at from half a dozen to two or three dozen. 



Good representatives of these nuagnificent owls are the great horned-owl, Bubo 

 virginianus, of America, and the eagle-owl, Ji. ignavus (or maximtts), of the northern 

 parts of the Old World. The latter is probably as large as any in the genus, and one 

 of the very largest of all owls, slightly exceeded in linear dimensions, perhajis, by one 

 or two others, but in strength and prowess surpassed by none. An adult female 

 measures about twenty-six inches from bill to tip of tail ; the wing is from eighteen 

 to nineteen inches in length, and the plumicorns from three to tUree and a half. 

 The weight of such a bird in fair condition is nearly eight jiounds. As in all the 

 members of the genus, the tarsi are well feathered, the facial disk is imperfect, 

 the part below the eye much exceeding in area that above it, and the plum.age is 

 of a mottled character, — black, white, and various shades of brown being the prevail- 

 ing colors. 



The eagle-owl is now extremely rare in Great Britain, but in mountainous and 

 VOL. IV. —22 



Fio. 154. — Leg of Scotopelia usalteri, shoving spicules. 



