TAWNY OWL. 149 



It inhabits Scandinavia, Lapland, Russia, the wooded 

 countries of the European continent, and is found in Spain, 

 Italy, Sicily, and Algeria ; it was seen by Mr. Strickland 

 as far to the southward and eastward as Smyrna. M. 

 Temminck includes this Owl in his Catalogue of the Birds 

 of Japan. 



The adult male has the head large ; the beak whitish 

 horn colour : the eyes large and full ; the irides dark blue, 

 almost black : the facial disk greyish white, defined by a 

 dark brown marginal line ; top of the head, neck, back, 

 and wings, a mixture of ash grey, mottled with two shades 

 of brown ; a descending line of white spots at the edge 

 of the scapulars, and another on the edge of the wing- 

 coverts ; wing-primaries barred with dull white and dark 

 brown, the wings only reaching half way down the tail ; 

 upper surface of the tail-feathers barred with two shades 

 of brown, the central pair of feathers being the most 

 uniform in colour. The under surface of the body grey- 

 ish white, mottled and streaked longitudinally with pale 

 and dark brown ; under tail-coverts white ; under surface 

 of tail-feathers greyish white, barred transversely with 

 reddish brown; legs and toes covered with short greyish 

 white feathers; claws horn white at the base, becoming 

 darker towards the tip. The whole length about fifteen 

 inches. 



The females are larger, and much more ferruginous or 

 tawny in the general colour of their plumage. Young 

 males are for a considerable time, probably till their second 

 autumn, similar in colour to the females. 



