248 BUBO VIRGINIANUS — THE GREAT HORNED OWL. 



of the family, with the exception of one — the Great Cine- 

 reous Owl, that inhabits North America — and in courage it 

 equals some of the eagles. When wounded, it will fight to 

 the last, and the grip of its strong and sharp talons will 

 produce a respect towards the bird in the unlucky wight 

 who ventures within its reach. 



Its food consists of small quadrupeds, such as rabbits, 

 rats, squirrels, &c., and also such birds as it can capture. 

 The farmer's chickens are sometimes visited, and if these 

 visits are not put an end to, few will be left- The favorite 

 haunts of this bird are the deep swamps and woods, and its 

 nest is built in the forks of some tall tree. It flies during 

 the twilight and in moonlight, or during clear night, and its 

 cry is one of the dreariest and most appaling known. 



The upper parts of the plumage are dark brown, finely 

 mottled with ashy white and yellowish brown ; breast and 

 abdomen white and fulvous, with each feather distinctly 

 barred with brownish black, the bars being more numerous 

 towards the tip. The throat and chin are white, in some 

 specimens the former is uniform with the breast — this is the 

 case with one in the Museum of the Cleveland Academy of 

 Natural Science. This white band seems to vary in size in 

 different birds. Between the chin and throat there is a 

 band of fulvous, every feather having a broad longitudinal 

 stripe of dark brown down the center. Ear tufts brownish 

 black, edged with fulvous; facial disc dark fulvous, edged 

 with black; a line of black extending from the inner angle 

 of the eye towards the ear tufts; tarsi and toes fulvous; the 

 upper parts of the wings and tail mottled like the back, but 

 with broad greyish bands on the quills of the former, and 

 narrower ones on those of the latter. The quills of the tail 

 are also lighter colored than the rest. Bill and claws bluish 

 black. 



The usual length of the female is about 24 inches; the 

 male about three inches less. 



The specimen from which the above description is taken. 



